This bombastic and full throttle adaptation of the horror classic is one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen and brings a lot of heart and theatricality to the story. 

Directed by Kenneth Branagh in 1994, this film retells the classic story of an obsessive Dr. Victor Frankenstein, played by Branagh, as he tries to conquer death by bringing life to a corpse. 

This movie has one of the best production designs I’ve seen. The Frankenstein house is vast and beautiful. There is a massive staircase that curves up the rounded wall with a gentle majestic sweep that looks too good to be real. The room has a subtle blue tint to it. Late in the film when a person carries a long scarlet cloak up the stairs it sweeps along the blue in the most stunning contrast of colors. 

The room in which Frankenstein conducts his experiments has this incredibly distinctive triangular shape. It is massive and looks as though it goes on and on for miles. The equipment he uses to build his creation is also distinct and inventive. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen. When his creation is finally born, Frankenstein and his monster slip and slide and crawl through a pool of amniotic fluid like the grossest slide n slide ever. 

What I love about the movie is how much time and attention is paid to the characters and the relationships. A lot of time is spent establishing the relationship between Frankenstein and his mother, played bye Cherie Lunghi. They have a lovely and loving relationship. When she dies it makes sense that this death would motivate Frankenstein to dedicate his life to conquering death. 

A more central relationship is between Frankenstein and his paramour Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter. She was taken into the Frankenstein house as a child and grew up with the family. As they grew, they realized they were in love. She brings out an optimistic and joyous side of Frankenstein that we don’t often see in adaptations of this story. She is the light in his life. 

Finally, we come to the creation, the monster, the star of the show. He is played by Robert De Niro. Why De Niro? Unclear. Originally Francis Ford Coppola was going to direct this film, hot on the heels of his Dracula adaptation, and he insisted on De Niro’s casting. For unknown reasons, he left the project as director and Branagh stepped up. That said, De Niro gives a great performance as the Creature. He’s full o pathos and tragedy. When he succumbs to his anger and the pull of revenge he becomes a menacing presence, but never fully loses sympathy. 

There’s a wonderful sequence in which the Creature is hiding out in a family’s barn. He helps them in their work and develops a fondness for them. When he is finally rejected by the family it is heart breaking. It’s the kind of deep emotion that you don’t expect in a monster movie. 

On the downside, the film is very over the top at times. It is a true melodrama. The emotions are massive and sometimes played straight to the backseats. If that doesn’t sound like fun to you. This will not be your movie. If you don’t mind a few big grand emotional gestures, then you will have a good time with this one. 

I also loved how faithful it is to the book. I read the book for the first time last year, and as I was watching I kept stumbling across scenes and saying, “oh yeah I remember this from the book.” It has a great faithfulness to the book that I really appreciated especially. It has a few big deviations as well, but compared to other adaptations it is like watching the book come to life. 

I really liked this. I had a great time with it. I definitely recommend it. 

It is my cup of tea. A-