VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN
By Gary Murray
The first version of Frankenstein was done by the Thomas Edison Company in the silent film era. All that exists from that work are a few pictures and production stills. Most consider the best version of the Mary Shelley penned work to be the 1930’s James Whale Universal version that starred Boris Karloff as the Monster.
Over the decades there have been re-makes and re-imagining as well as comic versions by such titans as Mel Brooks and Abbot and Costello. In the latest Victor Frankenstein, director Paul McGuigan puts to different wrinkles into the mix. He goes back to the original Gothic nature of the written tale and he tells the story from the interesting view of Igor.
The film starts with a circus and a clown hunchback (Daniel Radcliffe) with no name. He is vastly intelligent and has a perchance for medicine. He is also vastly infatuated with a fellow performer, a young woman on the high swing acrobatic–Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay).
A local doctor Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) buys a ticket to enjoy the show and an accident happens. Lorelei falls from her perch and onto the hard circus dirt floor. Both men come to rescue her and the hunchback performs a lifesaving move with Victor’s pocket watch. This feat impresses the doctor as it keeps the young woman from the mortal cloak of death.
Very soon, the hunchback is living with Doctor Frankenstein, fixed by him and is given the name Igor by the good doctor. It was the name of the man who once shared his space but has been gone for awhile.
As Igor studies under Victor, the doctor is amazed by how intelligent the former hunchback is and how sure his operating hands have become. Eventually, Doctor Frankenstein makes Igor his partner and tells the protégé the master plan, a scientific enterprise that can change the world. The doctor plans to make a beast from different parts of animals.
But, Victor Frankenstein is much more than a horror story. It is a melodrama with monsters. As much as the film keeps a focus on the good doctor, it keeps and equal amount of beats on the budding relationship between the two former circus performers. Since Jessica Brown Findlay is so striking in red, director Paul McGuigan keeps putting her in crimson frocks. She is given not much in Victor Frankenstein other than look fetching but her few scenes do nothing other than make the audience wish she had more.
Tied into all of this is an investigation by the police. A detective knows that something is amiss with the happenings at the circus and the curious missing of animal parts. He knows that he can tie all these different elements together if only given enough time. His examination almost feels like another story melded into this tragic series of events.
Writer Max Landis takes many of the basic elements of different versions of the myth of Frankenstein and combines new and different ideas into a grand whole. Those expecting either the original novel or the James Whale cinematic version will be sorely disappointed. But for those who do not mind different retelling of familiar material, this Paul McGuigan version will be an unexpected treat.
Daniel Radcliffe finds a post Harry Potter role that allows him to show off some true acting prowess. The beginning must have been a torturous physical challenge while the ending may have been more of an emotional one. He finally gets to play a character that has a gigantic affecting development. It is miles away from the boy wizard and a welcome adult role.
The big find is James McAvoy who comes across as the personification of the inferred mad genius of the novel. There is a crazed gleam in his eye and a volley-spatter emoting, pontificating declaration of ideas that makes the audience question his abject sanity and is reassured by his brilliance. It is a magical performance that captivates the audience as it thrills. And most of the funny lines come from his deranged portrayal.
While Victor Frankenstein is not a horror film, it is an enjoyable feature. It has many of the elements one expects from a Gothic feature with the look and feel of a different century. But at the same time it is both a funny and a tragic motion picture. For those looking for something different, this is not one to be missed.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy and Jessica Brown Findlay
Written by Max Landis
Directed by Paul McGuigan
Running time 109 min
MPAA Rating PG-13
Selig Film Rating Full Price
