Frankenstein
"I know what you are. A good man. And you are my friend."
I've decided before the Oscars on sunday to watch some of the nominated films I haven't seen before. Now I will not lie I avoided watching this for the longest time due to my very personal fear of the original Frankenstein in the 1931 film, but after watching i deeply regret not watching this until now.
Oscar Isaac's performance as Victor Frankenstein was unreal. The anger and devotion that this character had was just a total experience to watch. With the anger, I took this as that this emotion was coming from a place of mourning, with the death oh his mother to the absence of his father. With the devotion, he in theory was always focused on the creature, Whether it was the obsessions of creating someone who tested against the ways of death, to desperately wanted to dismantle this life he created. This create was beautifully written, and you could tell by his performance, like Victor, that he was completely devoted to portraying this corrupted scientist.
Mia Goth was absolutely perfect for this dual role as Elizabeth + Claire Elizabeth. I adore the idea of her playing both leading ladies in each Victor & The Creature's storyline. Both of these women contribute such great factors to the characters she's involved with. With Victor, Claire is there to show him the feelings of loss, that feeling sparks the idea of making someone who testified death. With The Creature, Elizabeth is there to show him the feeling of being alive, learning about love and forgiveness. Elizabeth saw what most see as a terrifying, pieced together man, but instead she saw someone that was so vulnerable and so afraid of what he was. She saw beauty.
Lastly, Jacob Elordi showed that he truly is the perfect portrayal of Frankenstein in this day and age. I never thought I would feel so emotional and maternal for someone as quote on quote "terrifying", but i certainly did. The Creature was so un-human but so incredibly human at the same, it was just surreal to see someone like that. The creature just wanted was to accepted, yet he knew that people wouldn't do exactly that. His longing for a friendship, a companion was undeniably so emotional to watch. By the end of the movie, all I wanted to do was to give him a hug.
This movie is now one of my favorites releases of the past year, sadly I know it might not win as many awards as I would want it too, but i'll just pretend it did.
"An idea, a feeling became clear to me. The hunter did not hate the wolf. The wolf did not hate the sheep. But violence felt inevitable between them. Perhaps, I thought, this was the way of the world. It would hunt you and kill you just for being who you are." - The Creature