FRANKENSTEIN  (Netflix)

A perpetual fascination with the man-made creature of “Victor Frankstein”, brought to fruition by Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Schelly (1797-1851), in 1818; a woman of prodigious intelligence, married poet Percy Busshe Shelly (1792-1822); tragedy informed her life, but her genius resonates for eternity.

Of the hundreds of adaptations Director Guillermo del Toro’s sears with immortal acumen, gut-wrenching poignancy; actors Oscar Isaac (“Victor Frankstein”) and Jacob Elordi (“Creature”) imbue their characterizations with brilliant madness, overwhelming scientific lust for replicating man, innocence, naivety, compassion, and growth of humanity, understanding in the unnurtured creation. It is a gorgeous, heart-throbbing, empathetic film. Commencing with the 1931 transformation starring Boris Karloff as the “Monster”, launching the “horror genre” director James Whale initiated the franchise that still vibrantly pulsates today. Binging on the myriads of franchise choices, my selection for original replication and most authentic to Schelly’s novel is the 1994 “Mary Schelly’s Frankenstein” directed and starring Kenneth Branagh as Victor Frankstein and Robert DeNiro as the monster.

“Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus” . Mary Schelly references and refers to Victor Frankenstein as Prometheus, the Greek god who stole fire from the gods gifting it to humans, earning perpetual wrath from Zeus; chained to a rock, eagle devours his liver daily, Prometheus doomed to redundant pain. In Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” , viewers are gifted a tearful, triumphant, exquisite conclusion.

FIVE STARS!!!!!

Peneflix