Frankenstein (2025)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Frankenstein (2025) – G. del Toro

For me, director Guillermo del Toro has been hit-or-miss. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017) were high points whereas other films looked great but suffered from overlength or uncertain plotting. Unfortunately, Frankenstein also falls into this latter category. Not unlike what Robert Eggers did with Nosferatu (2024), del Toro takes the basic Frankenstein story and then fashions his own plot around it (for better or for worse, in both cases).  Of course, the general theme – about responsibility for creating life with science -- remains intact but del Toro broadens it into an examination of parent-child relations (or specifically poor parenting). We begin with a new framing story, where Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein has been rescued by a clipper ship heading to the North Pole; he’s being hunted by his monster and tells his tale to the ship’s captain (also an obsessive, disregarding his crew’s wishes as he presses northward under harsh conditions). We are then in flashback, learning about Victor’s childhood (and distant disparaging father), his controversial experiments (with horror genre special effects), his patronage by rich arms manufacturer Christoph Waltz, his interest in his brother’s intelligent fiancée Mia Goth, and of course, the birth of the monster (Jacob Elordi) and their subsequent relationship. Later, we see the same story from the monster’s perspective, which brings us forward to the present time. As to be expected, the film often looks great (reviewers are describing it as a gothic fantasy, which is apt) and that extends to the costumes, art design, set decoration, etc. (del Toro claims to have relied on practical handcrafted effects rather than CGI, although this seems sometimes doubtful). But the plot, occasionally verging on Shakespearean (tragedy), lingers too long in some scenes, and the dialogue sometimes feels turgid and pretentious. (I wonder whether there is a Mexican or European sensibility influencing this). That said, Jacob Elordi manages to acquit himself very well in an unusual part.  Ultimately, this is the kind of film that sticks with you for its wondrous elements, even if those elements sit within a flawed whole.