Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

Dir. Kenneth Branagh

To date, more faithful to its esteemed source than most, if not all, other adaptions of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's novel, Kenneth Branagh's version of the story also had the potential to be something very special.

The first twenty minutes are where it's most evident; referencing the social side of 18th Century life, the limitations of medicine, the reasons for Victor's infatuation with creating and sustaining life, and introducing some striking symbolism, but the unevenness that follows undoes a lot of the good work.

Branagh paints the work with broad, grimy strokes when a more delicate touch would've served the story's layers of feverish obsession and hubris better. Furthermore, Patrick Doyle's score is often turgid, pushing bombastic heights instead of exploring quiet percipience.

Despite its failings it's still an enjoyable film, managing a successful repeated shift of viewer sympathies, inviting us to question morality in a similar manner to how Victor is forced to do.