Film Comparison

I’ve always been a fan of horror films and gothic literature, so I’ve seen several adaptations of Frankenstein. That being said, I hadn’t seen the most popular Frankenstein film made, one that came out during my lifetime. When I found out I had to do this project blog, I set off in search for the popular film, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which came out in 1994 and stars Robert DeNiro. This wasn’t an easy search, both chain video stores in the county didn’t have it nor did my hometown library. I did eventually find it three weeks later on a last minute desperate trip to another library and found it under the letter “M”. I promptly checked it out.

The film itself surprised me. The movie did stay true to many elements of the books, such as the beginning where the movie begins with Walton writing a letter home. While the letters weren’t narrated in completion in the film, the overall effect was there. The film showed Captain Walton and his crew stuck in a horrendous storm with Victor Frankenstein, played by Kenneth Branagh, approaching them for help. These are pretty much the only similarities between the novel and film. I think the director kept this aspect as a way to set up a time frame for the film. A nice white caption shows up across the bottom of the screen announcing the year is 1794. Victor is heard yelling in the distance and everyone is awestruck at first saying they didn’t know what was approaching them, then Victor walks up to the crew and captain asking for help. While this is the only similar scene, another aspect I enjoyed from the movie is how the times in the novel and film matched. The characters in the film dressed in period clothing and behaved with appropriate mannerisms as to what one would expect in the late 1700’s. Most other films do not show this aspect, and seem to take on a grainy effect of this could be happening in your own backyard. In these aspects, the film directors tried very hard to stay true to the novel.

Now, the film differs quite a bit from the novel following the first ten minutes or so. I’ve decided to focus on one aspect that was discussed quite frequently in class and that is Victor and Elizabeth’s relationship. In the novel, Victor doesn’t seem very interested in Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter, as a wife and lover; which she was expected to become since she and Victor were children. Victor continues to put off the wedding date to pursue his science interests along with protecting her from the creature who swore to harm her on their wedding night. The film differs in this aspect that Victor and Elizabeth are seen innocently enough as children, but in the next scene when they are portrayed as adults they immediately begin acting like boyfriend and girlfriend. They begin kissing in ways that most consider inappropriate for brother and sister, along with an anxious marriage proposal before Victor departs for college. Another way the book differs is that while Victor is creating the creature, Elizabeth shows up in his apartment to surprise him because she simply misses him so much and must see him. In the novel, Victor and Elizabeth aren’t this close, nor is Elizabeth allowed to travel. Eventually Victor and Elizabeth do marry, after a scene where Elizabeth insists they marry the next day, and a line is spoken that would gross almost anyone out. Elizabeth mentions that “Brother and sister no more” and Victor mentions they are now “husband and wife.” Now, why did the film directors show the relationship this way? I think it was to make the film interesting. I think the filmmakers wanted to show a love story and let’s be honest, sex sells. Instead of Victor being shown as this heartless jerk who only cares about himself which happens in the novel, he is shown as a man who can love a woman and care about her greatly, even though she was raised as his sister. This weird twist on their relationship also showed Elizabeth as a person and not just some lady growing old in her home somewhere.

Another difference in the film I’d like to discuss is the portrayal of the creature. The creature is played by Robert DeNiro, and with such a major name, he must be shown quite often. The creature is shown as a savage killer in the novel because he didn’t have a friend or female creature. His revenge must be taken out on Victor and kill everyone closest to him. In the film, the creature initially kills Victor’s brother, William due to Victor not staying around to teach him right from wrong. “You gave me these emotions but you didn’t tell me how to use them…” When they meet up, the creature then asks for simply a friend, and Victor quietly declines his request, then the creature demands a female creature, or else. The creature is seen as more human in the film also, because he cries quite often, such as when he is forced to leave the cabin where he learned to speak and also when Victor, whom he calls father, dies on the ship. I think the filmmakers did this to make it obvious that the real hero of the story is the creature and not Doctor Victor Frankenstein.

Overall, the film and novel are quite different from each other, but they both follow the same basic storyline. While the storylines are the same, they were showed in different ways based on popularity. Victor and Elizabeth’s relationship is romantic and steamy, and the creature is actually human. Victor isn’t this selfish man, nor is the creature just out for revenge on his creator. In my opinion, these changes took away from Shelley’s point of what happens if man is able to create life without woman. ( I won’t even discuss the female creature in the film, but it’s the biggest distinction between the book and film)While women were seen as more than just objects in the film, this also took away from Shelley’s social commentary on the expectations of women at the time. Many critics argue that Shelley wrote to get a point of male and female equality made, and the film didn’t show this at all. I did enjoy the movie though; it had a lot more connection and a sense of realness to it, than the book. If you were frustrated with the ending of Frankenstein, the novel, I recommend checking this movie out because it offers an ending that most readers (at least in class) were hoping to get.