Sometimes the interesting thing about film is watching the growth of an auteur. Depending on when you were born, you might have gotten to see the rise of certain artists honing their craft, but the exciting part is that first film, and feeling like you just witnessed the birth of something. I’d consider myself a big fan of Del toro, who even when he doesn’t top himself as a director, certainly is never boring. he has such a love for film, and for the celebration of monsters, that it really does carry through all the themes. Even his stop-motion animated Pinocchio, which certainly isn’t a straight horror film, finds different beats in what horror is. For the record,my first Del Toro film was blade 2, which while being the best of the trilogy, is not the film that screams future legend. However, the second film of his I saw, the devil’s Backbone, certainly did. He flourished in his own language as an artist, while directing mainstream Hollywood features to gain footing, and only eventually reaching enough clout to blend his style with American size budgets.

His latest effort, an adaptation of Mary Shelly’s classic novel, is a labor of love, and in many ways his white whale. I really don’t know what follows this. What horror legend could he possibly top Frankenstein with? Netflix, which can be great for the right director, threw a ton of money at him, and the result is a roughly 150 minute rather comprehensive take on what it means to be a modern Prometheus.

Splitting the story between Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and his point of view, and that of his eventual creation (Jacob Elordi), we see a case being prosecuted and defended, who is the monster? Who is the genius? Is victor the genius simply for having figured out how to reanimate, or is it how The creature essentially relearns everything from scratch. How to speak, how to talk, how to feel, and how to think about his own existence? really, it is that last part, the sense of self, which leads The Creature to realize he is deeply alone in the world, and without Victor creating a companion for him, perhaps he will always be fated to be through no fault of his own.

the film starts audaciously, with Del toro scrapping Shelly’s slower entry for an action sequence where a ship that has just rescued Victor, comes under attack from the creature. It is only after this battle that the captain wants to know more about his new passenger, and the foe he was ill equipped to face. victor tells him about his life growing up with a repressive father (Charles Dance), and how affected he was by the loss of his mother in childbirth to his younger brother William. it is through this that victor pledges to conquer death, and his scientific experiments begin. At first he seems a bit on the fringe of science, but he eventually catches the attention of a war baron (Christoph Waltz), who agrees to throw money at Frankenstein’s project, but with ulterior motives. He also is how we meet Elizabeth (Mia Goth), who seems to enchant both victor and William, though she ends up with William.

As the story goes, victor does manage to eventually piece together through corpses and wiring, “the Creature”, and through a surge of electricity under the right circumstances brings him to life. but the Creature has no memory, no motor skills, and the only word he seems capable of learning is victor. Fires and pitchfork mobs seem imminent. it is also through here that he is shown a sliver of kindness from Elizabeth, which enrages Victor.

From The creatures perspective, he discusses being abandoned, trying to escape those who saw him as a monster, and eventually befriending an old blind man (David Bradley), willing to have pleasant conversations with him, and teach him patiently, instead of abusing him the way his master did. Eventually, the creature comes to yearn for a companion, and knows only victor can give him one.

Del Toro, who has certainly played around with mans fascination of what a monster is in the most traditional sense, by almost always offering a supposedly human alternative far more monstrous than the unknown we too easily fear. The audience should leave with the feeling that the monster here is not the creation, but the creator, who often makes terrible choices, and if the opportunity presents itself, he blames the creation. it is easy to look at a reanimated corpse and believe that they are the monster, but thanks to a rather thoughtful performance from Jacob Elordi, the role becomes less of a stumbling stiff fool, and more of a wanderer with no place in this world, with no voice to advocate for him. Anyone who sees him as possibly not a monster is never listened to long enough for it to matter, and he’s once again something that needs to be destroyed. That is, until the end, when the captain of the boat is faced with two stories of the same tale. what will he choose to do?

Aside from Elordi, Oscar Isaac is vehemently committed to making Victor detestable. He often comes across as sniveling and privileged, much like Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator. Many have taken on this role, and Isaac is just one more. truly, while I hope Oscar gets his Oscar one day,it shouldn’t be for this. He’s had much more compelling and complicated roles before. This is just another strong performance, but it isn’t the one. Same can be said for two-time winner Christoph Waltz, who is exactly as solid as expected, but certainly never comes close to the work he won for. Mia goth, who impressed critics with her work in pearl, has an opportunity to stay in the horror wheelhouse, but play a very different kind of role. she’s quieter, not insane, and very kind. she may be gothic in terms of the roles she chooses, but she’s very much the damsel of this story, bending to forces she cannot control. Del Toro utilizes her in a dual role, but really the one worth mentioning is Elizabeth. Which brings me to my biggest complaint about Frankenstein…

In Victor’s story, we see him as a child lose his mother, which is supposed to be so emotionally devastating that it fuels his research into conquering death. This film does not have an insurmountable runtime, and the movie could have used more time with Victor and his mother. Even a scene or two, establishing that he had an actual dynamic with her separate from that of what he had with his father would go a long way for his pledge. If anything, Del Toro’s choices here almost ring the opposite, like his relationship with his mother is non existent to us as viewers, so Victor’s proclamation that he did it for her is just a placeholder for his own ego.

I might have found more for William to do, or found an actor to portray him that just had a more immediate presence, so his nominal screentime is felt throughout. Charles Dance has that ability, to outlast his screentime, and the right presence can do that with only a few moments. Anyone who also recently saw Die My Love likely noticed that Nick Nolte turned in a compelling fleshed out character with maybe 3-5 minutes of screentime.

The audio description by International Digital Center is mostly fine. In just a personal taste, that is not the voice I would have paired with Frankenstein. That’s the voice I’d pair with something else. I’m not sure what, but certainly not this. Gutman’s written text does as much as it can to bring the visuals to the audience. There are a few moments of amplified gore (beyond the obvious assembly of Frankenstein), and those were handled well. Gutman has done well in the horror space before, embracing the ick that comes with the territory. If you didn’t squirm a little at some point, we’re doing it wrong.I think if I had one note for Gutman, it would be establishing a bit more of the size relativity at the beginning. Being formerly sighted, Frankenstein is typically portrayed as slightly taller than everyone around him, but his entrance in the film almost makes him feel like a titan. After we get to know him, it’s a bit more clear he’s not like the Hulk, but the carnage and chaos at the beginning, mixed with Elordie’s altered voice seem to suggest perhaps the Creature has been taking some growth hormones since last he saw Victor.

I really did love this film. it isn’t my favorite film of the year, nor is it my favorite Del Toro film. it is, however, damn close on both fronts. I think the passion for his projects recently keeps coming through as he’s being granted access and budgets to the stories nearest and dearest to his heart, and it isn’t impossible that he could make another film so profoundly original as Pan’s Labyrinth one day.If so, he’ll certainly be doing it with Alexander Desplat, who seems to be the Danny Elfman to Del toro’s Tim Burton. These scores Desplat keep doing for Del toro are just perfect, and it is because he clearly is in a mind meld with the horror master.

A lot has been said about Del Toro’s Frankenstein, but the same can be said for the work from which it is adapted. The fact that Del Toro can take such a familiar story, put his spin on it, and make it as good as it is showcases why he’s the master of monsters.

Fresh: 8.8/10