The story of Frankenstein has been told and retold repeatedly since Shelley's novel, and previous movie treatments have aimed variously for Gothic horror, action adventure, character study and psychological drama.
In this case, the plot of the movie is a riff on the 1931 Boris Karloff version and direct derivatives (assembling a human body from parts and animating them with lightning, police nemesis, hunchbacked assistant, remote castle), with a change of focus from the tragedy of the monster (also a primary theme of the novel), or even from the monster entirely, to an attempt at answering a central question about Dr. Frankenstein himself: "What was he thinking?" We are given the perspective of the assistant, designated as "Igor", with enough backstory to make him sympathetic and his choices comprehensible, and through him we are introduced to medical student Frankenstein, well-rendered as an otherwise decent person who is believably and dangerously manic and obsessive (rather than theatrically insane or cold-blooded and sociopathic). We follow Igor as he is drawn first by gratitude and loyalty, then friendship and compassion, to assist in a project that at first sounds dubious and gradually turns disastrous and horrible.
The movie will not be satisfying to an audience hoping for extended combat scenes featuring the monster, brooding character studies in dark motivations, or wide, cinematic views of lonely Gothic settings (most of it takes place in a repurposed urban warehouse), although it as brief and well-chosen examples of all of those things. Frankenstein himself lacks the usual wife/fiancé, and the only romantic angle is an association of Igor's that serves to frame the plot.
The story the movie actually chooses to tell is engaging and well done.
In this case, the plot of the movie is a riff on the 1931 Boris Karloff version and direct derivatives (assembling a human body from parts and animating them with lightning, police nemesis, hunchbacked assistant, remote castle), with a change of focus from the tragedy of the monster (also a primary theme of the novel), or even from the monster entirely, to an attempt at answering a central question about Dr. Frankenstein himself: "What was he thinking?" We are given the perspective of the assistant, designated as "Igor", with enough backstory to make him sympathetic and his choices comprehensible, and through him we are introduced to medical student Frankenstein, well-rendered as an otherwise decent person who is believably and dangerously manic and obsessive (rather than theatrically insane or cold-blooded and sociopathic). We follow Igor as he is drawn first by gratitude and loyalty, then friendship and compassion, to assist in a project that at first sounds dubious and gradually turns disastrous and horrible.
The movie will not be satisfying to an audience hoping for extended combat scenes featuring the monster, brooding character studies in dark motivations, or wide, cinematic views of lonely Gothic settings (most of it takes place in a repurposed urban warehouse), although it as brief and well-chosen examples of all of those things. Frankenstein himself lacks the usual wife/fiancé, and the only romantic angle is an association of Igor's that serves to frame the plot.
The story the movie actually chooses to tell is engaging and well done.