Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
- drama
- horror
- science fiction
- romance
The story
Victor Frankenstein is a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His experiments lead to the creation of a monster, which Frankenstein has put together with the remains of corpses. It's not long before Frankenstein regrets his actions.
What it’s like
Lush gothic excess throughout: candlelit laboratories thick with smoke and shadow, rich amber and ochre interiors against cold blue Ingolstadt nights, and ornate Victorian sets dressed in velvet, brocade and gilt. Kenneth Branagh's camera moves with restless energy, sweeping dollies, dramatic low angles and abrupt cuts, while the grand Ingolstadt and Geneva exteriors are shot with a painterly sense of scale. Practical effects give the creature's body a tangible, sinewy weight, and the score swells with full orchestral romance and sudden stabs of dread. The vibe is operatic, feverish and melancholy, suited to a Halloween double feature or a late, lonely night with the lights low. Pacing is brisk and emotionally overwrought, and the arcs trace a grieving obsessive who creates life and then recoils from it, with a creature who turns from innocent curiosity to bitter rage. Violence is frequent and visceral: killings are shown on screen, with blood, stabbings and corpse-stitching, and there is a sexual content with nudity and a brief, intense scene of a bride's creation. Fear is frequent and loud rather than subtle. It suits viewers who want gothic romance and philosophical horror with heavy atmosphere, not gentle viewing.
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