Del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ is a Love Letter to the Infamous Creature

At a Glance: Del Toro delivers an epic feast for the eyes, combining the tenderness and tragedy of Mary Shelley’s novel with the visual spectacle of the Universal classic – enhanced by career-best performances from Isaac and Elordi.

As I made my way into Grauman’s Egyptian Theater, passing by murals inspired by the old gods of Egypt, I felt as if I was stepping into a temple – one dedicated to the gods of cinema. I felt this same reverence in every frame of Del Toro’s Frankenstein, a love letter to every iteration of Mary Shelley’s classic story.

Combining elements of both the Victorian gothic novel and the classic Universal films, Frankenstein adapts Del Toro’s favorite aspects of all things Frankenstein in a way that feels unique. It’s his adaptation, one that could never be mistaken for anyone else’s.

Set in the mid-1800’s, Frankenstein follows the story of an ambitious if unstable scientist on his quest to create new life out of the scattered pieces of dead men. Oscar Isaac is fiendishly unhinged in his interpretation of Victor Frankenstein, which juxtaposes the sober melancholy of Jacob Elordi’s monster. Praise must be heaped on both of these men, who completely disappear into the reality of their circumstances and deliver performances worthy of award recognition.

Del Toro’s film is not only animated by it’s cast, including Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz, but by the character of the production design. In fashion typical to his films, Frankenstein revels in lavish set-pieces, injecting color and fantastical whimsy into every prop and scene. It’s a feast for the eyes, despite some questionable overuses of CGI at key moments – including one sequence with some truly awful CGI wolves.

While Del Toro’s vision is certainly a worthy entry into the Frankenstein canon, there are some choices that, as a fan of Shelley’s novel, may seem to oversimplify her tale. Del Toro’s Frankenstein, while capturing the novel’s overall tone of despair, is considerably more optimistic. It goes to certain lengths to justify Victor’s mad obsession with death, creating a more sympathetic villain than the Victor of the novel. In the same vein, it tones down the monster’s crimes, removing any culpability on the monster’s behalf for his actions towards vengeance on his creator.

For those who haven’t read the original texts, these changes likely won’t register as things that detract from the film. It’s for us Shelley nerds to debate and discuss, and even still, Del Toro’s adaptation is among the closest to the original novel that has ever been produced.

If you’re a fan of Guillermo Del Toro’s style, Frankenstein will delight in its epic scope and lush cinematography. While it doesn’t have quite the punch that a truly faithful adaptation should, it’s an engaging and beautiful film from start to finish, possessing all of the hallmarks of a modern gothic classic.