Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Essay

This is of course in the most suspending parts. The other times music is used it is usually based upon the feeling that Frankenstein has at that particular time during the film. The music is often orchestrated giving a very gothic feel to the film. There are also different sound effects used to give dramatic affect throughout the film. Many of these would obviously never have been heard but they are put in to give the suspense. Such as his fathers wails when his mother has just died. They to don’t sound like human screams. This is done to give the affect that everyone has a dark side or a little monster in all of them. Throughout the film there is a lot of special effects. These include the Monster’s and Elizabeth’s look when they are created, the lightning, the fire, the breaking of the iceberg, the creation of the monster and Elizabeth, and the Laboratory. Like most special effects they are used to give the film better scenes and to carry out the story line in an affective and realistic way. Of course different SFX are used for different parts of the film, obviously for different affects. For example the fire is used a lot through the film. This is done to give the perception of fire to be an evil monstrous thing also to give the affect of revenge. Fire is always seen as something evil or bad, so making the characters start or cause fires gives the idea that something is evil about this character or the person they are trying to burn is evil. This is used effectively near the end of the film, where Elizabeth is turned into a monster and then kills herself and burns the house down. I believe that this is done effectively because it isn’t so much that she is burning herself because of what she has become but why she was revived. After she dies she is bought back to life not because Frankenstein believes she shouldn’t had died but because he wants her and doesn’t want to leave her. Frankenstein doesn’t want to bring her back to life for her sake, he is being selfish and bringing her back to life is to do so for his benefit only. The fire shows the evil of Frankenstein’s selfish ways. Another instance of SPX being used is the Lightning that I have already mentioned. Of course the most important part of any film is the acting. The acting in this film is very good. Most of the actors are not A list celebrities but they are very well known. The only truly well known celebrity is Robert DiNiro. So the acting in this film was expected to be high. Many of the characters are very believable. The two most believable characters are the main two, Frankenstein and the Monster. Kenneth Branagh gives a very good performance as an almost insane scientist wanting to further the scientific gain of the world and for himself. Robert DiNiro also gives a very good role as a monster. He shows the pain and anguish the monster must go through to try and fit into society. In the end it he gives up and seeks revenge after his creator. This is very effective acting between the two. Other secondary characters give extremely good performances as relations, friends and acquaintances of Frankenstein or the Monster. Such as Elizabeth who gives a believable role as truly caring about her future husband when she visits him. Frankenstein’s father who also shows the role of a proud father when Frankenstein becomes a Doctor and saves live, much like he once did. There are other key characters such as the family the Monster stays with. They aren’t greatly important characters that the characters must interact with them but they are key to the development of the Monsters character. It develops the monsters bitterness towards man. Of course there are other characters in the story but none are important and realistic as the main characters that interact with the lesser characters. The acting in this film is extremely believable and very good. The film wouldn’t be anything without any direction. Kenneth Branagh, who also played Viktor Frankenstein in the film, also directed it. Some people hinted that Kenneth Branagh was selfish to be directing the film and play the main role, but this could also be noticed as commitment. Branagh wanted to get the best version of Mary Shelly’s Chilling novel and to do this he believed he had to play Viktor Frankenstein himself. This was done simply to get the best adaptation of the book that was possible. Branagh used different effects to bring across the film. The structure of the film was seriously thought about in the directing. The position of key characters throughout the film is very important. For instance the position of Frankenstein when they are in the lecture hall, he is placed above the rest as if he was above the rest of the people there. The look of Elizabeth when she visits Frankenstein, the town is very dank and has no colour, where as Elizabeth is wearing a very colourful dress. As if there was life coming towards Frankenstein. This is done very effectively on Branagh’s part. Of course Elizabeth does stand out very dramatically and it is very easy to spot. The film is also structured so that it is told as a story from Frankenstein and the little dramatic affects are put in to give the story some integrity and to boost the storyline. Frankenstein or the monster is always in the centre of the screen, to keep the focus on them. Different locations give them different areas to excel at. The Monster has brilliant moments in the Ice landscapes because it shows the strength and power of the character. Where as putting Frankenstein in the lab with the lightning scenes give the perception that Frankenstein is in fact going very mad. The directing is done in different scenes to make sure the acting, locations, SFX and use of camera’s compliment each other so that the film fits together and so that storyline is told to perfection. Other things make sure that the film fits together correctly. The speed of the narrative is very important and also the use of flashbacks. The narrative starts very near the start but it doesn’t actually go back to the narrating until it reaches the end of the film. It is almost don e in a way to introduce ad close the film. The narrative is only explained through the story that almost presents itself during the film. The flashback system is only used once throughout the film. This is done when Frankenstein first starts his story about the deadliest mistake he ever made as a scientist. This is very affective and goes back to when the Frankenstein first get granted the degree to become a doctor. This gives the effect of showing us Frankenstein’s opinion and memory of events that have happened. Also it gives an actual perspective of person’s events on what happened. The flashback system is not over used in this film like many other films do. There is other important cinematography in this film. Camera angles, colours and symbols are used to get the point across. Many of these I have mentioned in other paragraphs. Such as the colour of Elizabeth’s dress and the position of Frankenstein in the Lecture Hall, symbols such as fire are used throughout, to symbolise death and tragedy. There is other cinematography used but nothing as good as these examples. The film also presents visual affects on the different classes of people and the way the monster fits into it. The classes between Frankenstein’s family and the town’s people are very easy to see. There are peasants and the upper class that are very easy to seals. The differences between the servants in the Frankenstein’s family are quite different as well. There are the very poor servants, which seem a lot like the towns people. The next class of servants are normally dressed as butlers or middle class. The next class of servants are almost friends, e. g. the Nanny they have working there who is later killed because of the monster. When the Frankenstein’s witness this death it is almost like losing a member of their family. The monster does not fit into any of these classes. He like Frankenstein is an outsider and doesn’t belong anywhere. This is very easy to see when he interacts with the town’s people. They treat him very differently because of they way he looks and acts. It is very easy to see that everyone in the late 19th Century were treated on how they appeared. I believe that this film is a good one because it has a good adaptation of the book. The film is done very convincingly as a gothic horror film. It shows the pain and suffering of the different classes of people. It also shows the burden of discovery and the horrible truth that no matter how hard we try, the book will always be judged by its cover. The film was an average film at the film theatres. It has had a number of bad reviews but in my opinion it is a good film and one of the best Frankenstein adaptations. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.