Reel Rundown: Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ shines in technical quality, but casting and acting falls short

At first glance, Mary Shelley and Guillermo del Toro would seem to have little in common. Shelly was an early 19th century English novelist while del Toro is a modern-day Mexican-born filmmaker.

Their one main connection, though, is the character that Shelley dreamed up during a celebrated weekend in 1816. It was during the summer of that year that she, while engaged in a writing challenge with Lord Byron and John William Polidori, came up with the idea for what would be her groundbreaking novel “Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus.”

And now del Toro, following in his career-long obsession with creatures, monsters and the melding of horror with the most basic of human concerns, has taken his turn at adapting Shelley’s novel (streaming now on Netflix).

It is hardly the first time someone has filmed a version of “Frankenstein.” James Whale directed his famous effort, the one starring Boris Karloff as the Monster, in 1931. But Whale’s work has been followed by hundreds of other feature and short films as well as numerous television shows.

Few, though, have demonstrated the quality that del Toro lends to the story, most of which involves the film’s technical aspects. As for the storyline that he came up with, not to mention the acting of some of his cast members, well, those are different matters.

Del Toro begins his film where Shelley ends, with the doctor Victor Frankenstein in the icy Arctic, severely injured. Found by the crew of a Danish ship, whose captain (Lars Mikkelsen) is intent on a mission to reach the North Pole, Frankenstein tells his story, which del Toro then reveals in flashback. Meanwhile, Frankenstein’s creature (played by Jacob Elordi) rages outside, demanding to see his “creator.”

Thus we learn about Frankenstein’s childhood, his relationship with his stern father (Charles Dance) and his manic desire to surpass his father in reputation by learning how to create life. His aim becomes possible when he is approached by the wealthy arms merchant Heinrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz) who agrees to fund Frankenstein’s project.

In turn, we discover that Harlander’s niece Elizabeth (Mia Goth) is engaged to Frankenstein’s brother William (Felix Kammerer). And while the elder Frankenstein becomes intrigued by Elizabeth, and then obsessed with her, she recognizes his single-minded passions and rejects his affections.

Then the project is realized, resulting in the Monster who, at first, is childlike in his abilities to understand the world and his place in it. For his part, Frankenstein ends up becoming the cruel taskmaster that his own father was. And soon enough, the Monster – now filled with rage himself – is cast adrift.

At this point in del Toro’s film, the Monster gains access to the Danish ship and proceeds to tell his own story – of how he escaped Frankenstein’s castle, how he educated himself and learned to love, loathe and fear humanity. Most important of all, he decides that Frankenstein must pay for his cruelty.

Much of this follows Shelley’s original narrative, if told out of order. But a good part of it comes from del Toro’s own imagination. His Monster, after all, is not only doomed never to die, but he unaccountably is as impervious to harm as any Avengers superhero. And he has a relationship with Elizabeth that is far different from anything that Shelley imagined.

Thanks to pristine cinematography, inventive production design and the film’s special effects department, what del Toro puts on the screen matches his best past efforts, from 2006’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” to the 2018 Best Picture Oscar winner “The Shape of Water.” Yet other aspects of the film fall short.

For one thing, Goth is miscast. As good as the British actress has been in such offbeat films as “Pearl” and “Maxxine,” she just does not have the alluring screen presence needed to play Elizabeth. And Isaac, who has starred in a variety of films over the years, tends to overact in ways that keep some of us from understanding Frankenstein’s motives, much less empathizing with him.

The one bright acting performance comes from the Australian actor Elordi, who is superb as the Monster. Having emerged in 2023’s “Priscilla” while playing the young Elvis Presley, he manages here to embody his character with a full range of emotions, even under makeup that makes him virtually unrecognizable.

In the end, this “Frankenstein” is far more del Toro than it is Shelley. Yet the film’s R rating does point to something else that the two have in common.

Neither shies away from portraying graphic violence.