Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Blu-ray)
APPROX. 123 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1994 - MPA RATING: R
" The more you watch, the more you appreciate how Branagh was able to faithfully retell Shelley's novel while still managing to make it fresh.
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Seeing publicity shots of Robert De Niro as the monster looking like a stitched-up version of an ugly rag doll was enough to make me suspect that this version of "Frankenstein" would be no match for that gruesome guy in green with the bad haircut who terrorized peasants with his arms outstretched as he lurched forward. But the funny thing is (though in retrospect, why would it be surprising?), De Niro does a credible job of carrying off a challenging portrayal of the monster as a more sensitive and perceptive creature. Mary Shelley's novel was more than a fright-fest. It was also a morality tale full of existential questions, and, originally titled "Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus," it was intended to raise significant questions about the limitations of science during an age of rapid scientific advancement.
Kenneth Branagh's version of "Frankenstein" stays closer to the original novel than most. Branagh incorporates discussions in which the monster considers his creation and his lot in life. Frankenstein's monster is far less far less primal than in previous cinematic adaptations, and that makes for a much more interesting creature--especially since he wants more than revenge from his creator. He wants answers. After all, this was the scientific age, and the monster's brain came from Frankenstein's brilliant mentor. Branagh also opts to retain the frame of Shelley's original tale, though decided to dramatize the information rather than convey it via letters, as Shelley did. In "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," the ship of a North Pole-bound explorer (Aidan Quinn) becomes stranded in the Arctic Sea in 1794, where they encounter the mysterious Dr. Frankenstein and their sled dogs become fodder for his monster. While some will find this opening and closing frame superfluous, Shelley felt (and I'm inclined to agree) that it's more than a device to emphasize the truthfulness of the central story. It reinforces the morality tale of an obsessed scientist willing to sacrifice more than he morally should in order to achieve scientific gains . . . or is it fame?
Gorgeous scenery (including one inexplicable "Sound of Music" picnic and kite-flying scene), superior acting, and inventive takes on the legend breathe new life into an old monster film. From scene to scene, there are some nice touches and interesting variations that make you sit up and take notice. It's fascinating, for example, to watch Dr. Frankenstein (Branagh) play Ben Franklin and hold hands with his family lying on the ground around a lightning rod so that they're electrified, not electrocuted when a bolt strikes. And as he pays a midwife to harvest amniotic fluid and fill what looks like a pressure-cooker bath for his creature, it holds our interest as much as the primate arm that was animated earlier. There are also some nice symbolic and associative cuts, as when Frankenstein sneaks into the courtyard to cut down a man who was hanged so that he could use him for "raw materials." The man has a peg leg, and as Frankenstein slices the rope and the corpse drops to the ground, there's a quick cut to a table in a tavern where a bottle of wine (shaped the same as that peg leg) is slammed on the table. Nifty little touches like that make for a fun experience.
As the monster goes through the routine of running off and hiding in the pig pen of a peasant family, then having an encounter with a blind man, it's so familiar that it invokes the whole range of Frankenstein experiences. The best parts of this film are the deviations from the legend, and thankfully there are enough of them scattered throughout the film to hold our interest. In many ways, the tone and style remind me of "Amadeus," with background music an important component. There are some bloody and graphic scenes, including a primitive Caesarian birth and plenty of skin being stitched and manipulated, but it's a monster film. What do you expect? I find, though, that the level of character development and the issues that are raised make this version of "Frankenstein" one which gets better with age, rather than more dated or tedious. Tom Hulce (who played "Amadeus") does a fine job of directing empathy toward the title character not unlike that lightning rod. And Helena Bonham Carter makes for a fine lifelong love-and-friendship interest who gives us another window through which we can view Dr. Frankenstein, with each view adding additional perspective.
