‘Frankenstein’ movie review: Jacob Elordi’s gentle monster melts and flays hearts in Guillermo del Toro’s gorgeous adaptation

In the excellent making-of documentary, Frankenstein: The Anatomy Lesson, director Guillermo del Toro says he is closest to the stories of Pinocchio and Frankenstein. “Both are stories of ‘abnormal kids,’ whose fathers are disappointed in some way.”

Thus, del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, rather than being a cautionary tale about unbridled scientific ambition, is a story of fathers, sons, love, rage, terror, and disappointment.

That this deeply truthful tale is delivered as a symphonic opera with vivid sound and hues, and towering physical sets, is the glistening red cherry on a multi-layered cake.

The symphonic approach, del Toro says, “fuses everything — the cinematography, the wardrobe, and the set design.” Kate Hawley’s costumes, which have Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) more Mick Jagger than mad scientist, and Mia Goth’s Elizabeth’s costumes, which reveal her love of nature in gossamer wing patterns, propel the story forward.

Dan Laustsen’s frames capture the colours as well as the vast arctic wastes and fiery flames, while Tamara Deverell’s set design from Frankenstein’s towering lab to the Gargantuan ship, plays its part in immersing us in this iconic tale.

A still from ‘Frankenstein’
| Photo Credit:
Netflix

Tipping its hat to its operatic leanings, Frankenstein opens with a prelude.  It is 1857 and on an expedition to the North Pole, a Royal Danish ship, the Horisont, is trapped in ice. As the crew try to free the ship, they see an injured man being chased by another. The crew manage to sink the Creature under the ice and bring the injured man, Frankenstein, on board.

Frankenstein tells the ship’s captain, Anderson (Lars Mikkelsen), that the Creature will not leave until it has him. Frankenstein goes on to tell his story in Part 1: Victor’s Story. Frankenstein’s father, Baron Leopold, (Charles Dance), is a brilliant surgeon but aloof and abusive. After his mother (also played by Goth) dies giving birth to his brother, William, Frankenstein decides to find a way to conquer death.

Frankenstein’s studies take him to Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, from where he is expelled following his experiments with reanimating corpses. Frankenstein meets a wealthy arms dealer, Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz) who is willing to bankroll his experiments, with a shady reason for his generosity.  

Though Harlander’s niece, Elizabeth, is engaged to William (Felix Kammerer), Frankenstein is attracted to her, finding a kindred spirit. Shocked and disappointed with the lack of development in the Creature (Jacob Elordi) he made from the body parts of soldiers from the Crimean War, Frankenstein sets his lab on fire.

The Creature comes aboard the Horisont and in the Wraparound says, “My maker told his tale? Then I will tell you mine.” Part 2: The Creature’s Tale tells of the Creature’s escape from the burning lab, his stay at the hunter’s cottage where he is shown love and learning by the Blind Man (David Bradley).

A still from ‘Frankenstein’
| Photo Credit:
Netflix

Though when the family do not see him, they thank him for his many kindnesses, calling him the Spirit of the Forest. When they set eyes on him, they attack, causing the Creature to realise, “this was the way of the world. It would hunt you and kill you just for being who you are.” The finale sees Frankenstein and the Creature move towards forgiveness and hope.

While all the cast are excellent — from Dance’s cold ferocity to Waltz’s sinister silkiness and Isaac’s fatal pride, Elordi’s gentle, tragic monster is the beating heart of the film. Apart from the physical cost of the role, including 10 hours in makeup, Elordi’s personification of childlike curiosity, gentleness, hurt, and anger is breathtaking. Now we can wait with bated breath for his Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights.

Apart from the gorgeous set design, the music, costumes, and acting, Frankenstein offers a cornucopia of delights for literature nerds. There are Hamlet callbacks with both the Creature and Elizabeth pondering a skull, the Creature quoting Mary Shelley’s husband Percy Shelley’s sonnet Ozymandias, references to Prometheus (the book is called Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus), and Lord Byron’s “And thus the heart will break/ yet brokenly live on” at the end of the film, making it the perfect feast for the mind and the senses.

Frankenstein is currently streaming on Netflix

Published – November 10, 2025 02:44 pm IST