This fall, Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein arrived on Netflix, allowing audiences to enjoy Del Toro’s latest cinematic masterpiece. Del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein is a meticulously crafted love letter to Mary Shelley’s novel (a staple of the Burroughs English curriculum), and it may be the most source-accurate version we have ever seen on the screen. Yet even with this devotion to the original text, Del Toro takes some thoughtful creative liberties, particularly in the thematic landscape of the story.
While Del Toro does portray the familiar themes of ambition and obsession perfectly — especially through the performance of Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein — Del Toro also delves into the deeper concepts that caused that ambition to rise. For example, Del Toro digs into the cycles of abuse and generational trauma that cause Victor to be so obsessed, leading to his inevitable demise.
Del Toro’s genius however, spans past his liberties in the story and finds its way into the very casting of the film. All of Del Toro’s choices for the roles were inspired. The idea of double casting Mia Goth as Victor’s mother and Elizabeth is ingenious. Doing this emphasizes Victor’s emotional immaturity and his inability to separate his idealized memories from reality, reinforcing the boundlessness of his ambition. Likewise, the casting of Jacob Elordi as the Creature is simply a perfect choice. Elordi, being one of the most conventionally attractive men alive, is particularly inspired casting in a role that sees him rejected for his appearance, highlighting the overarching themes of beauty in imperfections and the despair of creation.
Overall, Frankenstein affirms Guillermo Del Toro’s status as a cinematic visionary whose work continues to redefine what adaptation can achieve. Many directors could take tremendous notes from Del Toro, but few could hope to match the artistry on display here.
