I grew up knowing the story of Frankenstein only from films in which he was a monstrous character who only barely resembled a human. In the different movies and presentations Frankenstein has been a caricature who mostly grunts and makes stiff movements that are more cartoonish than scary. I was an adult before I finally turned to the book written by Mary Shelley that first introduced the world to Frankenstein. From the first pages I realized that the classic written by Ms. Shelley was far different and more complex than any of the renderings I had ever before seen. Hers was a philosophical consideration of humanity and our interactions with each other. 

Not long ago a friend who was a couple of years ahead of me in high school enthusiastically recommended the 2025 movie Frankenstein with an almost breathless insistence that it was one of the most moving films that she had seen in a very long time. Given that I had a kind of hero worship of her that dates back to our high school days I knew that I had to find out what had so enchanted her in the presentation directed by Guillermo del Toro. A few nights later I convinced my husband that our entertainment for the evening should be watching the film on Netflix. 

I realized from the onset that the movie was following the story as envisioned by Mary Shelley far more closely than any previous versions with only a few changes designed to make it more understandable on the screen. The tale of Victor Frankenstein and the human-like creature that he created unfolded on a ship imprisoned in ice in the far north. There Victor began the story of his childhood peppered with his adoration of his kind mother who had protected him from a demanding father who insisted that Victor study to become a surgeon. Victor’s tortured and confusing existence took a dark turn when his beloved mother died in childbirth. He became the spurned son who had to watch his younger brother become the favored child. In the process his determination to create life using the skills that he learned becomes an obsession. 

Victor Frankenstein’s determination to bring life back from death results in his expulsion from the society of doctors. Nonetheless, a seemingly chance meeting with a wealthy man provides him with the funding to carry out his beloved project of bringing life to once seemingly dead body parts. Both he and his patron work incessantly to find the secret to human animation. In the meantime his younger brother becomes engaged to the beautiful Elizabeth who reminds Victor of his loving mother. He falls in love with Elizabeth but she spurns him because he has become cold and distant and seemingly devoid of emotions other than anger, jealously and violence. 

Victor does indeed eventually create a creature but just as his father treated him cruelly, so too does he become a tyrant in his relationship with his manufactured son whose only wish is to have a truly good human interaction with his maker. Only Elizabeth senses the lovely humanity inside the seeming monster that Victor has made. 

The majority of the story revolves around the remembrances of Victor as he speaks to the captain of the stranded ship followed by the creature’s side of the story. We hear the pain in the tales of both the man and his creation. Both long for deep connections with others that never seem to bear fruit. We realize that in some ways it is Victor who has become the monster even as he wanted to be more like his mother than his father. On the other hand the creature develops enough compassion to understand why Victor is the way he is. 

The interplay of emotions, longings, beliefs about what life should be are both tragic and beautiful. Del Toro captures the full essence of Shelley’s classic with passion and beauty. He creates a vision of humanity that requires the viewer to think more deeply about what it means to be alive and how we should treat each other. It is a beautiful rendering of the story that left me both breathless and elated. My tears fell at the sheer wonder of all that the story asked me to consider.

Now the film has been nominated for several Golden Globe awards including best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Performance by a Male Actor for Oscar Isaac, Best Performance for a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Jacob Elordi and Best Director for Guillermo Del Toro. My high school friend was on target in recommending that we watch this movie. LIke her I urge you to find the film on Netflix. You will be talking about it for a very long time.