‘Frankenstein’ Finds Guillermo del Toro at the Peak of His Powers

We come to a Guillermo del Toro movie for many reasons. We come for the incredible visuals, both on screen and within it. We come for the horror, whether that be internal or external. And we come for the heart, which the Oscar winner often finds in the most gruesome of places. All of that and so much more are in full effect with his latest film, Frankenstein, which is now playing in select theaters before its permanent home on Netflix on November 7. It’s a complex, sumptuous, and entertaining film that’s not quite among del Toro’s best but is incredibly close.

Del Toro, who also adapted the script from the iconic book by Mary Shelley, tells his version of Frankenstein in three parts. There’s a prologue, set in the film’s present, which is then followed by the story of Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac, and finally, his creation, played by Jacob Elordi. While most of the film is told in flashback, del Toro expertly uses the framing of that story to give the film both exciting momentum and some surprising thematic arcs as each story unfolds.

Once things are set up, Victor’s story starts in childhood and works all the way through the thing we all know is going to happen. He’s going to challenge the notion of life itself by assembling a living creature out of dead bodies. But how and why would someone do that? Del Toro is as interested in the gory (and believe us, it is G-O-R-Y) details of the procedure as he is in the psychology behind it. Victor’s relationship with his parents, played by Charles Dance and Mia Goth, becomes a crucial throughline, as does his younger brother, William, played primarily by Felix Kammerer.

It’s through his brother that Victor meets Henrich Harlander, played by Christoph Waltz, who helps facilitate all of Victor’s experiments, ultimately leading to the creation of the creature. So as Victor puts his creature together piece by piece, del Toro simultaneously does the same with Victor himself, adding depth and purpose to his motivations and personality. Those run a wide gamut thanks in large part to his brother’s fiancée, Elizabeth, also played by Mia Goth. In Elizabeth, Victor finds feelings he never thought he could have, and it changes a great many things in him. That Goth also plays his mother in a smaller role is a great example of the layers del Toro is working with here.

Eventually, in one of the film’s many big, bombastic visual sequences, we watch the creation of the creature. And yet, as beautiful as the scene is, what Elordi does with the character after the fact is the film’s biggest revelation. We get a lot more of the creature here than most other Frankenstein adaptations, including a long, crucial section showing his early relationship with Victor, which informs everything to come.

And so as del Toro completes Victor’s side of the story, he’s made us consider many feelings and perspectives on each of the characters. Feelings and perspectives that change as the film transitions into its final section. Finally, we see how the creature feels about everything, why that is, and what life is like for him after certain events separated him from Victor. This section of the film is more gentle and heartwarming but regularly interrupted with bursts of brutal violence. In the same way del Toro builds your thoughts on Victor, this shift in tones informs his feelings on the creature. So, by the time the film moves all the way back to the beginning, everything we may have felt in Frankenstein has changed, and del Toro proceeds to bring it all together.

Clearly, this being a dream project for del Toro, everything in the movie is immaculate. From the costumes and makeup to the sets and cinematography, each morsel of the film is treated with the utmost care. You always feel like you are in this place, with these characters, and what a magical place it is. That also extends to the performances, which are excellent across the board. Leading the film, Isaac is wonderful as always, but, again, Elordi is the true revelation. As the creature, he does exactly what Victor does to his character—gives him a wholly new, complex, and multifaceted life. The performance is physical. It’s emotional. It’s wonderful.

And yet, the one thing that del Toro ever so slightly fumbles is that final piece of the puzzle. The film does such a masterful job of presenting these characters, thoughts, and themes throughout, then flipping our conceptions of them over and over. However, when we reach those crucial, final moments, they don’t quite feel as impactful as everything before them. It works well and leaves us in a satisfying place, but ultimately the resolution between Victor and the creature, and del Toro’s thoughts on it, seems a bit rushed in comparison to everything else.

Even so, I walked out of Frankenstein wholly entertained, emotionally fulfilled, and in awe that del Toro was able to present this story in such an accessible and beautiful way. It truly feels like a movie he was meant to make. A filmmaker at the height of his powers. And he’s given us a film that, even with a few little issues here and there, we’re likely to enjoy from now until forever.

Frankenstein is currently in select theaters and will expand over the next few weeks. It’ll then premiere on Netflix November 7.

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