Frankenstein
(1994)
Directed
by Kenneth Branagh
Starring
Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro, Aidan Quinn, Ian Holm, John Cleese, & Helena
Bonham Carter
A
ship traveling to the North Pole picks up a dying stranger with an
extraordinary story. This man, Doctor Victor Frankenstein, tells the captain
his life story. How his mother’s death drove him to seek a means to conquer it.
This obsession compelled him to seek out taboo sciences and conduct an ungodly
experiment. He created a man out of dead parts and left the creation when the
reality of the situation hit him. What Victor didn’t know was that the creature
would be so persistent to seek its creator. Victor didn’t know his obsession would
destroy his life.
Meant
almost as a companion piece to Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, Branagh’s Frankenstein
is equally lofty in its scope and story. The sets are huge and lavish, the
costumes are detailed, and the creature is more humanistic than previous movies
dared to show. This is a film version that’s fairly faithful to the actual
book. No Igor and no windmill, but plenty of clashing egos and an impromptu
trip to the arctic. The movie immediately alienates some by abandoning the
cinematic vocabulary already established for Frankenstein and his creature. But,
doing so opens the movie up to playing with Mary Shelley’s loftier ideas and
themes. It’s a smarter film, perhaps at the cost of some scares.
The
makeup for Victor’s creature looks good and decidedly different from many other
movie versions. There’s no hint of the Universal design; this creature is just
scars, a tattered coat, and grit. But, the slightly minimalistic approach does
give De Niro the freedom to act under the makeup. The sets and overall design
are quite lovely as well. They’re gothic and elaborate, but in the way a BBC
production would execute them. It’s slightly disappointing given the film
history of Frankenstein and the
aesthetics of Coppola’s Dracula, but
it’s still serviceable.
Kevin
Branagh is an actor first, so his Victor is pretty great. He’s intense and
driven, obsessed with conquering death but filled with regret over his actions.
Perhaps he overacts a bit in parts and he certainly loves to show himself
shirtless. Branagh still did a good job as both lead and director. Helena
Bonham Carter does well enough with Elizabeth, but she’s only given something truly
great to work with in the third act.
There
are some really interesting surprises in the cast. John Cleese has a somber
turn as Victor’s mentor, Professor Waldman. Aidan Quinn shows up during the
bookends of the movie as the ship captain who finds the good doctor. Of course,
the biggest surprise is Robert De Niro as the creature. Not only is this a big
fish to pin to monster role, but De Niro also hits it out of the park. His creature
is lonely, vengeful, and hungry for acceptance. It feels like Branagh and De
Niro are on the same page, they both treat the material like it’s Shakespeare.
Frankenstein
goes in a slightly more theatrical direction than previous film versions, but
that just makes it more interesting. It’s filled with great performances and it
looks beautiful. There are much worse Frankenstein movies you could find, but
none quite as ambitious.
8 out of 10
