Jacob Elordi

The story begins in 1857 in the Arctic, where a ship bound for the North Pole, is trapped in ice. When Danish Captain Anderson (Lars Mikkelsen) spies a giant, wraithlike Creature, wrapped in animal furs, pursuing gravely wounded Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) through the tundra, he rescues him. In gratitude, Victor relates what led him to this predicament. Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro has made a poignant conception of what it means to be human: to crave love and seek understanding – sanctified by the filmmaker’s dazzling visual imagination, particularly his opulent use of shapes and color, reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch.

Few people love monsters like Guillermo del Toro does. Beyond horns, tails, fangs, and scales, the Oscar-winning writer-director of The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Hellboy sees intelligence, beauty, longing, and soul. Frankenstein, his adaptation of Mary Shelley’s landmark 1818 Gothic novel, is marvelous. Grand, sumptuous, and passionate, it’s a heartbreaking vision of hubris and humanity where we least expect it.

There have been over 400 Frankenstein feature films of one kind or another, but none even comes close to this larger than life Guillermo del Toro production. Nothing is digital. No AI. The handcrafted sets, makeup and costumes are done with such pinpoint attention to detail, some scenes may make you squeamish. If you are familiar with del Toro, you know he’s indulgent, but not in an egotistical way. He’s a lover of big screen stories, but he doesn’t just make movies, he paints moving pictures that are works of art.

Honoring Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel and the tale’s early film history, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein thrillingly reimagines the iconic creation story. Technically, as impressive as cinematographer Dan Laustsen’s compositions are, as effective as Alexandre Desplat’s score is, and as masterful as all the performances are, heady philosophical ideas undergird every moment from narcissistic egotism to remorse, unfettered violence to gentleness, cruelty to what qualifies as human and humane. del Toro’s vision is imprinted on every frame lifting Frankenstein into iconic status.