“You know this story”, the movie says in its first line. It is a bold and perhaps even a dangerous start, though the point made is a good one. The story of scientist Frankenstein and his monster, even if it is the movie versions rather than Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel*, is one of the most well-known fictions in literary & film history. It could therefore be said that there is a risk of there being little new to tell. This time, in order to create something original, the Frankenstein story is told mainly from the perspective of Igor, known in the Universal movies as Victor Frankenstein’s loyal henchman.
The movie begins with Daniel Radcliffe telling the story of his beginnings, as a nameless hunchback in a circus in Victorian London. Reminiscent of The Elephant Man, this cruel and thankless lifestyle is changed when he meets James McAvoy as Victor Frankenstein.
When there is an accident at the circus, Victor is impressed by the hunchback’s knowledge of human anatomy, acquired from stolen books. Victor helps the hunchback escape from the circus, takes him under his wing and then names him “Igor” after a mysteriously unseen roommate. The two then become partners in Victor’s ongoing experiments to create life through artificial means.
This leads to the traditional events of the classic Frankenstein movie story and the creation of ‘the Monster’.
The movie tries hard to emulate the energy and pace of Guy Richie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, and combine key elements of the Frankenstein mythos into a new upgraded version. Whilst the movie is not without charm, it’s not quite of the same standard, though a major improvement on Van Helsing.
The cast is genuinely winning. Of the major parts, Daniel Radcliffe surprised me most as the more subdued foil to the manic McAvoy, and shows that there is a possible career in acting after Harry Potter. The role of Igor, given that the movie is primarily his version of events, is a challenging one to carry throughout the film, and yet Radcliffe manages it well. Part innocent, part victim, he also shows a touch for comedy as previously seen in Sky TV’s A Young Doctor’s Notebook.
James McAvoy’s manic performance is great fun, but admittedly he’s not Robert Downey Jr. This means that at times his character is not as logically depicted as is Igor, though he clearly puts energy and commitment into the role. Jessica Brown Findlay, as Igor’s paramour Lorelei, echoes her role as posh Lady Sybil Crawley from Downton Abbey, albeit of a lower class this time around.
Of the other roles, the casting generally is a showcase of British talent – Andrew Scott from the BBC’s TV series Sherlock plays Roderick Turpin, the Scotland Yard police detective entrusted in finding the escaped hunchback, and brings an interesting depth to the plot as a religious zealot who sees Victor’s work as blasphemy, illustrating the argument between science and faith. Mark Gatiss, also from Sherlock, has a minor role as Dettweiler, one of Victor’s assistants – in fact, the role that Igor originally had in the movies! Charles Dance, from Game of Thrones, is memorably Baron Frankenstein, Victor’s father, a brief role but one which strikingly portrays a cruel and vicious bully that is not a million miles from his characterisation of Tywin Lannister.
The movie, as befitting the subject matter, is appropriately gruesome when it needs to be – a semi-assembled monkey named by Frankenstein as Gordon, runs amok across the screen in a hideous semblance of reality, the appearance of the final ‘Monster’ both emotive and chilling. Effects have come a long way since the Technicolor gore of the Hammer Horror movies! The dramatic resurrection scenes – electricity, lightning and all – are quite impressive.
On its release, the movie had mixed reviews. Perhaps as a result of its British casting, the movie was well received in Britain, but less positively elsewhere.
Victor Frankenstein is not a bad movie, by any means. There’s a lot of bonuses which make the movie worth watching. The sets are sumptuous, the acting generally good, the plot surprisingly not too unrealistic. Whilst some have claimed it to be a re-imagining without imagination, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It would make a great Hallowe’en double bill with Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow – or even as a counterpoint to Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.
*(George’s review of the original book for the 2016 Countdown is HERE.)
Victor Frankenstein (2015)
Starring Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy
Directed by Paul McGuigan
110 mins
Review by Mark Yon
