Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is for the reader who thought, “What if this whole thing was darker?”
As a book reader, I am not opposed to a few plot changes, so long as there is a reason for it. Character changes, however, I am opposed to. Of the changes from the book to the movie, there were a few major ones: Victor Frankenstein’s father was much crueler, Victor is aged up and manages to gain support from other scientists, Henry Clerval is nowhere to be found, William lives and is engaged to Elizabeth, Victor burns his own laboratory, he actually spends time with The Creature, the blind old man is killed by wolves, Elizabeth is killed by Victor, and The Creature is made immortal. So, more than a few changes.
I am mostly supportive of the plot changes, which surprises me. The only one I have a major issue with is William not dying young. William’s death in the book served as an ironic reminder of Victor’s (initially) unmotivated hatred for the creature. William, a child at the time of his book death, was intelligent, and curious about the world. When Victor mourned this innocent curiosity, yet ignored The Creature’s near identical mindset, it showed Victor’s fear and hatred towards The Creature of his own creation.
Henry Clerval is another major point. I see why he was left out – due to the change in Victor’s character, a sympathetic friend like Henry was not needed. A large portion of Henry’s role was helping Victor through his multiple mental breakdowns. Once that was removed, his role was replaced by William and Elizabeth’s uncle. My problem with Henry’s removal does not come from my love for the character (though he is a wonderful character), but from the alterations of Victor’s character that removes Henry’s role.
Victor Frankenstein was changed quite a bit from book to movie. He was made angrier, crazier, and less fearful. To be Frank, if book Victor met movie Victor, movie Victor would make book Victor cry and have a mental breakdown that lasts at least a week. The reason movie Victor spent any amount of time with The Creature was because he was less afraid than book Victor, who took one look at The Creature and hid under his covers. In the movie, Victor is far crueler to The Creature, and he does not instantaneously run from the responsibility that he created for himself. In simpler terms, movie Victor is an abusive father, and book Victor is an absent father.
The most accurate scene to book Victor is the creation of The Creature. It’s also the best use of gore I’ve ever seen. The scene is full of blood, and as one watches, the cracking of bones can be heard. Victor is shown sawing human body parts in half and mopping up pools of blood. All through this gory mess, a happy song plays in the background. Victor believes he is doing a great thing for the world, when in actuality, he’s doing something awful.
The largest redeeming quality of this movie is Elizabeth. In the book, she was a flat love interest (and Victor’s cousin). The movie, I believe, accurately expanded upon her. They maintained her main purpose, of making Victor see the virtues of life, but also gave her more of a personality. Not only that, but they allowed her to meet The Creature more than once, as opposed to the book, in which she spoke to him for only a few minutes before he killed her out of jealousy for Victor’s perfect life. Elizabeth and The Creature’s meeting in the movie is by far the best thing to come out of it. Elizabeth is gentle and understanding towards him, and sees him as a human, not a thing. The scene is, without exaggeration, a very moving show of compassion.
Overall, I have to give this a three out of five. The redeeming qualities are large, but they don’t outweigh the dark alterations to Victor’s character.
