Jacob Elordi is a remarkable Creature in the new Netflix adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel.
Jacob Elordi on transformation and rebirth in ‘Frankenstein’
Jacob Elordi reveals how playing the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s new “Frankenstein” movie reignited his passion for acting.
- Guillermo del Toro has fulfilled his lifelong ambition to make a new version of “Frankenstein.”
- The filmmaker’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic 1818 novel streams Friday, Nov. 7, on Netflix.
- Oscar Isaac stars as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi is a revelation as his Creature.
The new “Frankenstein” is the most Guillermo del Toro movie ever, from its majestic gothic splendor to the monster’s tragic beauty.
If you’ve paid any attention at all to the Oscar-winning director and his films over the years, it’s apparent that everything about Mary Shelley’s classic − from the original 1818 novel to the 1931 horror adaptation − is his jam. He’s gushed over it in interviews and his work has been long influenced by the mythos. So this “Frankenstein” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; streaming Nov. 7 on Netflix) is kind of a climactic moment, with Oscar Isaac as the egotistical scientist playing God and a never-better Jacob Elordi as his patchwork creation.
It’s always nice to see someone’s passion project come to fruition. Especially so when it’s this darn good.
After the death of his mother at a young age, Victor Frankenstein (Isaac) is determined to create life as an adult, in morally questionable ways. He gets fired from his university gig − they frown on things like attempting to reanimate corpses – but Victor gets financial backing for his experiments from arms dealer Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz).
Victor gathers assorted body parts from executed criminals and deceased soldiers from the Crimean War to craft the perfect specimen to shoot lightning through and make himself a living man. Just when he doesn’t think it’s worked, the Creature (Elordi) is born – an extremely tall mass of sinew and lithe muscle who looks a bit like he just lurched off the page of an anatomy chart.
Still, Victor isn’t totally pleased. He’s got a major thing for Elizabeth Harlander (Mia Goth) – Henrich’s niece and the fiancée of Victor’s brother (Felix Kammerer) – and after the double blow to his ego of her showing the Creature care and the creation not being evolved as Victor would like, the scientist tries to burn him to a crisp. Victor fails, and it locks the two in a dynamic where one tries to kill and/or foil the other for much of the latter half of the movie. (Other folks also try to end the Creature and it never goes well.)
The “Frankenstein” production design is impeccable: Victor’s lab, for example, is epic in its grandeur, with an almost artsy sci-fi vibe, and unlike many drab takes on the doctor and his monster over the years, del Toro’s film pops with color. As large as the movie does seem – from the scope of the movie to the two and a half-hour runtime – it’s very intimate in terms of emotion and character dynamics.
They don’t get many scenes together, but Isaac and Elordi – the father and son of sorts – are exciting to watch as Victor and the Creature’s relationship changes wildly over the course of “Frankenstein.” Isaac spends a good amount of time injured and disheveled, but especially early on, he lends definite pomposity to his scientist. He can be a jerk, yeah, though he’s fun to watch in his over-the-top glory.
While Isaac might be the title character – remember, kids, Frankenstein is the scientist and not the monster – Elordi’s sensational portrayal makes the movie. After noteworthy roles in “Priscilla” and “Saltburn,” the Australian actor takes a huge leap forward under a bunch of prosthetics and makeup to create a nifty character arc. Like his “dad,” the Creature gets to tell his story, too – he’s rather eloquent, in case you assume he’s just going to grunt the whole time – as the empathetic heart of del Toro’s narrative.
Complex but innocent, the Creature tries to be human in an inhuman world that treats him badly. That’s the kind of movie that del Toro does better than anyone, and “Frankenstein” might just be his greatest hit, as an electrifying master pours every bit of his soul into his gorgeous creation.
How to watch ‘Frankenstein’
The gothic drama “Frankenstein,” starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, is streaming Nov. 7 on Netflix. It’s rated R by the Motion Picture Association “for bloody violence and grisly images.”
