The awards season is making itself known quickly now.
We already have top Best Picture contenders in “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” and “Marty Supreme.”
Now add Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which could be the wildly talented director’s second Best Picture after “The Shape of Water.” It’s certainly got the most heart, even when the relationships appear twisted and on the edge of collapse.
Last night’s premiere at New York’s Paris Theater and following at the new spectacular Tiffany store on Fifth Avenue was a major success.
You think you know Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” pretty well by now, even lampooned by Mel Brooks so perfectly in “Young Frankenstein.”
But del Toro’s vision is something else again, a richly textured heartfelt retelling of the story of the monster — played with pathos by Jacob Elordi — and its passionate creator, Victor Frankenstein, in a knockout performance from Oscar Isaac.
Tamara Deverell’s production design alone is reason for settling down into sumptuous sets framed in Dan Laustsen’s color drenched cinematography. Alexandre Desplat’s lush score should be heard in symphony halls.
Isaac and Elordi enact what turns out to be a poignant if violent father-son relationship. The doctor — abused by his cold father (Charles Dance) as a boy, sets out to make his monster from pieces of dead victims. Once he does, the monster only wants love and companionship despite being treated worse than any animal.
So we get two versions of their story, each from their perspective. The doctor’s POV is a fever dream as he endeavors — with the help of an instigating Christoph Waltz — to create his horrifying vision. The flip side is the empathetic story of a creature who longs for acceptance.
There are plenty of well drawn supporting characters in this rollicking narrative. Felix Kammerer is Frankenstein’s sympathetic younger (and much more loved by their father) brother. Mia Goth is Elizabeth, who makes an emotional connection with the creature as she uncovers the horrors of Victor’s intent. David Bradley steals the show as a blind man who accepts Frankenstein wholly, and breaks his heart.
del Toro et al say there is almost no CGI, everything we see is real (except, I hope, for the rats which are so bold they look like they’ve been trained in the New York subway.)
del Toro certainly has a stunning resume, from “Pan’s Labyrinth” to “Shape of Water,” “Pinocchio,” “Nightmare Alley.” and so on. But this is the pinnacle of his career, a big screen breakthrough that must be seen in the largest format possible. (Netflix knows that, which is why it’s rolling out in theaters before hitting their platform.)
What a thrilling season. After last year’s sort of desultory and grim offerings (still having nightmares about “The Brutalist”), 2026 — or that is, 2025 — is shaping up pretty nicely.
On the scene last night: famed artist/film director Julian Schnabel, whose next film, “In the Hand of Dante,” stars Oscar Isaac; Sandra Bernhard, getting ready for her run of shows during New Year’s Eve week at Joe’s Pub. And the great British actor, Mark Strong, about to open on Broadway with equally ferocious Lesley Manville in “Oedipus.”
