Frankenstein 2025

The new Frankenstein movie came out a few weeks ago, and being a huge  Frankenstein fan, I've been wanting to do a proper analysis/review on  it, but after much thought about it, I still don't have much to say about  the film. Perhaps I need to see it one more time to really pick it  apart the way I want to, and if  I do I'll probably make another blog post  about my thoughts. 

For now,  here is my analysis (mostly spoiler-free):

Its  certainly one of the most faithful adaptations of the novel that I've seen in film, if not in story then certainly in spirit. The  cinematography, sets, costumes, and acting were all very inline with the gothic drama of the original novel. I was especially pleased with Jacob  Elordi's depiction of the creature— I was not expecting his performance  to be as good as it was. However, I feel that as a whole, the movie is so watered down compared to the novel, and misunderstands many of the novel’s core themes (or at the very least reinterprets them in a way that is less satisfying to me). I understand that its impossible for a movie of reasonable length to accomplish the same thing as a ≈300 page book,  but I found that the movie's interpretation of the novel to be particularly shallow and weak. (Take, for example, Victor Frankenstein's  brother outright  telling him "you are the monster"-- a sentiment that was  more ambiguous and sub-textual in the book.)  I also didn't like the treatment of Elizabeth’s character as it came off a little too “manic pixie dream girl” for me. Points for her no longer being Victor’s Cousin, though that should be the bare minimum for a modern adaptation.

Overall, I thought that as a film in and of itself, it was above average, but as a Frankenstein adaptation, it was pretty mid. I’m glad that efforts are being made to associate the Frankenstein story closer to  roots, but this project felt rather indulgent and falls short as a genuine attempted adaptation of the novel.