“Frankenstein” is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, it stars Oscar Isaac as Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature. It is not a particularly faithful adaptation, but the majority of adaptations of this story have not been faithful to the source material. Del Toro wrote the screenplay himself, and while his vision often departed markedly from the book, his interpretation makes for a very interesting film.

The film does keep the book’s framing device of a ship in the Arctic Circle coming across Frankenstein, who then tells his story. The ship is trapped in ice, and Captain Anderson (Lars Mikkelsen) is similar to the character in the book in his determination, almost akin to Frankenstein’s obsession, to push forward on his journey (to the North Pole) in spite of the dangers they have faced so far. They see a fire and hear an explosion out on the ice, and when they investigate they find Frankenstein, injured and unconscious. They take him back to the ship and the Creature follows, killing several of the men before they repel his attack by breaking the ice under him.

The film contains much of the visual beauty I would normally associate with Del Toro. The sets are picturesque and immersive. Frankenstein’s childhood home is elegant and impersonal, like his father. His lab is cluttered and full of both interesting and gruesome items, reflecting his morbid experiments and interests. The castle he is given for his great experiment of creating life is suitably gothic. The effects are also very typical of the director – the gruesome partial body of Frankenstein’s early demonstration, the body parts he calmly cannibalises from different corpses, up to the interestingly patchwork makeup of the Creature himself. I have always admired Del Toro’s ability to world build, and he certainly manages that here.

Oscar Isaac is very convincing as the title character. He is wild, aggressive and arrogant. He believes in his own rightness and superiority over others. He callously inspects condemned men before they are to be hanged to decide which ones will be suitable cadavers afterwards, a rather horrifying moment. He has the bad taste to fall for his brother’s fiancé and assume he will successfully win her away, not hesitating or thinking this would be a horrible thing to do. So it is a moment the audience must feel is well deserved when she turns him down cold. Frankenstein’s treatment of the creature when he successfully creates him is brutal. The director deliberately mirrors Frankenstein’s father’s brutality in the way Frankenstein brutalizes the Creature.  This is, of course, not an excuse. Frankenstein in the book immediately rejects the creature, but the behaviour of Frankenstein in this adaptation leads to the same result – the creature is taught cruelty and hate, naturally turning that back on the one who made him. Isaac masterfully portrays this self-righteousness and lack of remorse.

Jacob Elordi is not an actor with whom I am familiar, but I was very impressed with his depiction of the Creature. He is very good at showing the Creature’s fear and confusion, his willingness to accept kindness when it is shown to him, and his propensity for relentless obsession he has learned from his creator. I always liked in the book that the Creature is extremely intelligent, and this is one of the few adaptations that has kept that aspect of his personality. Elordi is compelling in this portrayal. (At this point I would like to mention the makeup team – the patchwork nature of the Creature’s body is a new portrayal that sets the film apart from previous adaptations. I liked it.)

Elizabeth has been given a new role in this film than in previous adaptations, or in the book. Instead of being Victor’s love and then fiancée, she is here the fiancée of his brother William. Mia Goth portrays her, giving her an interesting dynamic as an intelligent and educated woman who is fascinated by Victor’s work, but not so much that she does not see what he really is. Goth illustrates this intellectual side to her very well and gives Elizabeth a greater role and agency than the character usually has in this story. Her scenes with Elordi are really good, when she (unlike Victor) teaches him more by being kind. That Victor mortally wounds her while shooting at the creature is ironic; that Victor tells the other men who come to his aid that the creature injured her is entirely typical. Once again he does not take responsibility.

Felix Kammerer as William Frankenstein has something of a thankless role in the movie. William is the younger, unassuming, not remotely flamboyant brother, who is quite clearly a far more decent human being. Elizabeth might find Victor’s intellect appealing, but she chooses William’s kindness. Kammerer does a very good job in a far less flamboyant part, a steady supporting presence to the main players.

Christoph Walz plays Harlander, Elizabeth’s uncle and a character completely invented for the movie. I think there is some justice in the comments that he does not need to be there. After all, Frankenstein is a Baron – he has money, and certainly does not need a backer. So Harlander seems superfluous to proceedings. That being said, Walz as always does a wonderful job – his character is an arms dealer and sees profit to be made in Victor’s experiments. I wonder if Del Toro meant to draw a parallel between this and the common funding of science by the military in the current time. Harlander’s ultimate purpose and design for the experiment comes somewhat out of left field, and again I found it unnecessary to the plot.

While there are many deviations from the book, this did not overly bother me. This particular novel has been adapted many times for the screen and rarely if ever has it remained faithful to the book. If I was to note one aspect which puzzled me the most, it was deciding that the creature was functionally immortal. That is not in the book and I don’t believe it has been used before (not that I have seen every adaptation). I suppose you could hypothesize that the Creature’s constant coming back in the various Universal sequels might hint at immortality, but it certainly is never stated. Nevertheless it is an interesting idea.

“Frankenstein” is a beautifully directed and acted film with much to recommend it. Del Toro’s visually stunning direction and a very good cast all come together to make it a fine movie. I would highly recommend it.