Ronald Glasbergen, Contributing Writer:
From Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) to Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro’s films all share something claustrophobic — something that makes you feel uneasy. This latest, admirably executed interpretation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, is no exception. The 19th-century Gothic fairy tale about immortality and the artificial creation of life using 19th-century means remains just as oppressive.
What makes Del Toro’s Frankenstein fascinating is precisely what also makes it suffocating: the emphasis on craftsmanship executed with watchmaker’s precision — and that is more than a mere analogy, since Del Toro previously made the impressive Cronos, a film even Rolex could learn from. The question, however, is whether all that perfectionistic, mechanical, and obsessive attention ultimately produces a film with a soul. That is, of course — just like the question of what such a soul actually is — exactly the issue that occupies the director in his quest for precision himself.
It is the same question that torments both protagonist and antagonist of Mary Shelley’s novel: What is the soul, and where in the body does it reside? No wonder that, according to the making-of documentary, this film had been on the filmmaker’s bucket list for many years. With Del Toro’s maturation as a director, the growth of his reputation, and, with that, the ability of his producers to acquire the necessary resources — thanks to Netflix — the time was finally ripe to make the film.
The creation of Doctor Frankenstein — a modern bringer of the life-giving fire — is assembled from remnants of human bodies gathered from a 19th-century battlefield. Breathed to life by the ingenious doctor. Del Toro’s Frankenstein believes however that his creation is a failure and keeps it hidden. Tellingly he even hates his creation.
Elizabeth, the fiancée of Frankenstein’s younger brother in this story, recognizes in the artificial being a universal, human character that — despite its countless stitches and imprisonment — is familiar to her. And the recognition is mutual. She realizes that the immortal being created by Doctor Frankenstein possesses a soul.
Mary Shelley and Del Toro have each envisioned a magnificent story. Just as this film is viewed through countless lenses, so too have many filmmakers interpreted Mary Shelley’s book and given it their own twist. And here on ScreenAnarchy.com, countless reviewers once again report on the quest for the soul of the film — in this case, a film that is itself about a quest for the soul.