Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation splits in two. It opens in 1857 aboard a Danish naval ship trapped in Arctic ice, Victor gives his account first, then the film returns to the same events from the Creature’s side, effectively restarting at the midpoint. The Creature was first cast with Andrew Garfield. When the part changed hands, makeup designer Mike Hill had to abandon nine months of work and rebuild the design for the taller Jacob Elordi. Hill says 42 silicone appliances went onto Elordi’s head and body, the makeup took ten hours a day, and the crew’s call time was midnight. The aim was to avoid the familiar look: Hill notes the creature often appears to have been in a car accident and stitched back together, whereas they wanted a newly minted man, not a repair job. There are no neck bolts and no patchwork seams. The film screened at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. At the Oscars it won three awards: makeup and hairstyling, production design and costume design. Its nominations included best picture and supporting actor for Jacob Elordi. A good fit if you do not mind the second half rebuilding events from the Creature’s viewpoint and returning to the Arctic frame. Not for viewers hunting the patchwork monster of the Universal tradition, which this design deliberately omits.