Frankenstein (2015) ★★★★★
I bought this without knowing anything about it – it was in a 2 for £4 offer online and I noticed 'From the director of Candyman' on the cover, so that was a good enough reason for me to add it to my basket.
Bernard Rose's adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous story relocates the action to present day Los Angeles, telling the story from Monster's perspective. As the film begins when the creature, called Monster in the credits, is brought to life, we know nothing about how he was created and, with the film cutting to black when he loses consciousness, the gaps in his knowledge are shared by the viewer.
This is a really interesting way to tell the story, making you fully invested in the main character, shifting the focus away from Victor to his creation and making Victor secondary to Elizabeth, his wife and laboratory assistant. Showing what happens to Monster when he encounters members of the public, police, and particularly a blind, homeless man (Tony Todd) makes you acutely aware that people are products of their environment.
The film is emotionally and intellectually interesting and involving, the central performance from Xavier Samuel is superb, and it's a thought-provoking and affecting film, one which mixes melodrama and extreme violence in a way which few others have managed so effectively. It's possible that this is Bernard Rose's best film, one which should be seen by everybody with an appreciation for Mary Shelley's timeless classic and other films based on the novel.
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