James Whale made great use of the technology available when this movie was created. The movie was set primarily in the night, which gave the viewer many objects in shadow at all times. Whale played on this by giving us scenes where "the monster" approached people from the shadows, and them screaming upon seeing him. This is a key factor that tells us the monster frightens people upon sight more than anything else.
This is further played out when Frankenstein's monster enters the Blind Man's home. I couldn't help but laugh that the first three things he learns as a "civilized man" are a little English, smoking, and the drinking of wine. When the men locate the monster in the house, they start their pursuit once more. At this point, the monster of the film has changed. I feel that James Whale is trying to tell us that we are the monsters, judging people by their appearance rather than giving them a chance.
A second point of the film is made later on upon the creation of his bride. While trying to create someone who was to love the monster, it turned out she was frightened of him just as everyone else was. Frankenstein's monster says something that sticks out against everything else in the film just before he destroys the castle. "We belong dead." I believe he was trying to say that it is not our duty to play God or toy with the lives of others. The monsters were brought to life, but failed at their tasks. Frankenstein was not able to enter society as an accepted being. The Bride was not able to become a suitable bride for Frankenstein. Man tried to control things it was not meant to and failed, causing much more trouble than any they had before starting.
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I like that you have done some interpreting of different events of the movie, and have given more detail into what you think they mean. Likewise, You reference specific spots in the movie and even give quotes which is very helpful. However, I feel as a "popular review" there was a lot left out of description. Granted, I have seen the movie, I have only seen it once... So jumping right into the interpretation of the movie made it a bit jarring to start reading. It would be nice to have a bit of an introduction including a description, even if it was only a sentence or two.
ReplyDelete-Erin Harper
I liked the interpretation of your review, but I also think you should have started with a synopsis of the background of the story instead of just jumping right in to the meaning and symbolism of it all. I have seen the movie several times and I still like reading a short description, a hook or sorts, to pull the reader in to the story. I too like how you quoted a line from the movie and described the symolism, and you picked a fantastic line to quote at that, so mysterious yet obvious and meaningful at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to see that Dr. Pretouris mentioned on your blog since he was one of the mostimportant characters in the film. I would have liked to see more of a description in the first paragraph. Other than that I think you did a good job.
ReplyDeleteyou made what i think was just about the most important point to consider when watching this film.
ReplyDelete"screaming upon seeing him. This is a key factor that tells us the monster frightens people upon sight more than anything else."
i say this because they were frightened not by him for who he was but for the way he looked. i enjoyed you review you did a great job.