The film will be released in theaters on October 23 and on Netflix in November
After a career exploring the humanity of monsters and the monstrosity of Man, Guillermo del Torofinally, launches its version of Frankensteinthe new film adaptation of the story of Mary Shelley. In the film, the director tries to give new layers to the issue raised in the original story, giving more prominence to Victor Frankenstein’s megalomania and his paternal relationship with his Creature.
“I know it sounds cruel, but it’s a hereditary thing,” del Toro said at a news conference he attended Estadao. “You’re born perfect, then your family comes along and you destroy yourself. I wanted to show that journey, from a newly created soul to a thinking human being at the end.”
Del Toro chose to play Victor, a scientist determined to defeat death Oscar Isaacknown to the general public for Dune and the most recent trilogy in the franchise Star Wars. According to the director, the actor possesses a natural theatricality that brings him closer to the ambitious character he had conceived for the story. “Oscar is naturally musical. I don’t want to say ‘Latin men do it better,’ but, you know [risos]we do it. I wanted Victor to seduce everyone at school, seduce investors, lure Elizabeth (My Gothic) until it shows its flaws.”
Although del Toro jokes about Isaac’s Latinity, the actor admits that his ancestry made him feel connected to the character after first talking about the role with the director. “We talked about family and parents in Latin culture, where parents are very vigilant,” she recalled.
A ‘magnetic’ Victor
“I loved playing this character, […] because he’s someone who never doubts himself,” Isaac continued, saying that he himself tends to question himself a lot. “So to have the escape of living as someone who has no doubts about what he wants, to the point of being almost blind [para o resto do mundo]It was a lot of fun.”
“Every tyrant in history has undoubtedly been someone,” del Toro added, comparing Victor’s feeling of incomprehension to the delusion of persecution that many dictators have of themselves. “Publicly they play the victim, this is a constant. They say ‘poor me’, but in reality they are monsters. And for me Victor is like this.”
In addition to victimhood, del Toro wanted the scientist, like many tyrants, to also be charismatic and pragmatic. “He had to be magnetic by nature,” the director said, adding that his Frankenstein should “move like a rock star, but be able to think like a sculptor.”
How the Creature came to life
This artistic streak given to the scientist was even reproduced in the appearance of the Creature, played by Giacobbe Elordi. According to del Toro, his “monster” could not simply be “a bunch of parts glued together, he is a complete human being”. “Its design is part of the story. Nothing in the film is ‘eye candy’, it’s all ‘eye protein’.”
Elordi recalls that his connection to the story of the Creature was practically immediate when he read the script. “Every speech of the Creature was something that I myself questioned. [sobre mim mesmo]. Every scene was a “why?” and my whole life has been a sequence of mornings where I would wake up and ask myself “my God, why?” So asking these questions through such an eloquent character was something I had to do,” the actor said.
“There’s a moment in the script – and this has never happened to me before – where the Creature shows his face to Victor, and I remember, when I read it, I heard the drums,” Elordi said. According to him, the scene appeared in the trailer “as I imagined it”.
To embody the Creature, Elordi studied Butoh, a Japanese dance style also known as “dark dance,” as well as observing his dog’s movements and reactions. “My dog has this innocence in the way she moves and looks at things. We had a wonderful moment in the hotel in Toronto where I looked at her and she looked at me. She put her nose close to me and got a little electric shock. At that moment I thought, ‘I know’. She gave me life. Things just happen if you’re open to them.”
TO My Gothicwho plays Elizabeth, the love interest of both Victor and the Creature, her identification with the character of Frankenstein it was immediate. “Guillermo sent me the script about two months after we first met, and I think for the first time in my career, I saw a little bit of myself in a character. I’ve never had that kind of connection with a script before. I think that feeling of being left out and wanting connection and looking for a home really made me identify with it.”
According to the actress, her work was greatly facilitated by del Toro’s script and the design of Elizabeth’s costumes, designed by Kate Hawley (Circle of fire). “The moment I saw the costume and the story that was being told through the fabrics, I could understand who Elizabeth was inside it. There wasn’t a specific dress. It made me understand how the costume could be a tool to tell the story.”
Another defining factor for Goth was del Toro’s collaborative nature behind the scenes. According to her, the director consistently gave the cast confidence in their work, encouraging them to follow their artistic instincts. “There were times when I felt embarrassed [de me impor]because Guillermo did it Frankensteinthe film we always wanted him to make. But he came to me with great wisdom and said I had all the answers [para a personagem]that I was chosen for a reason and that I could decide what to do. It helped me trust my intuition and that, as an actor, is something very valuable and something I will take with me into the future.”
Also screened in the program of the 49th Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Frankenstein will have a short screening in cinemas across Brazil from October 23rd. The film arrives on Netflix on November 7.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
