Guillermo del Toro released his adaptation of Frankenstein on Netflix earlier this month, delivering one of those films you're either going to love or hate with very little room for lukewarm opinions. Me, personally, I loved the heck out of it. The movie offers plenty of horror/gore, yet it balances that with a tale of redemption, plenty of drama, absolutely gorgeous visuals, and thematic content that shines a light on a subject many aren't too keen to discuss in a feminist culture like ours: the critical role a father plays in shaping a child's life.
Or more appropriately stated, the damage and ruin deadbeat fathers leave in their wake.
BE WARNED. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Del Toro’s film follows the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant doctor, scientist, and surgeon, who sets out to defeat death after losing his mother as a child. As the movie progresses forward, we see Victor use various bits and pieces of bodies from deceased individuals to create a whole new person, and he ultimately succeeds in bringing that person to life.
However, almost immediately, viewers sense that Victor feels disgusted by the life he made, calling the new human an "it" because he sees its lack of immediate intelligence as appalling and therefore a failure in his ultimate goal. In reality, Victor doesn’t find his playing God an abomination; he feels disgusted because this new life resembles a child, which means he would need to take responsibility for the Creature. Feeding him. Educating him. Teaching him.
Victor has no interest in any of that. He wanted — expected — the Creature to come to life already intelligent. That would enable him to present his work to his colleagues around the world, where he fully believed they would look upon him in awe. A bumbling man-child capable of only saying his name falls far short of what he hoped for.
Frustrated that he would genuinely need to take care of the Creature and accept responsibility for its growth and maturation, Victor treats his "son" cruelly, beating him repeatedly and insulting him. Throughout the film, Victor attempts to kill the Creature several times.
One can easily draw a parallel between Victor’s desire to avoid responsibility and murder his creation and how deadbeat fathers-to-be try to force their girlfriends or spouses to abort their pre-born children. Taking care of a child is a lifetime responsibility. It doesn’t end when they turn 18 and become an "adult." No, guiding, caring, and inspiring progeny continues until the day one of you shrugs off this mortal coil.
This intimidating, daunting task demands loads of self-sacrifice, something many young men today don’t value. In their eyes, murdering their own children seems better than being chained to responsibility. That attitude reveals a lack of masculinity and comes across as effeminate, weak, and, frankly, pathetic. A man can never realize his full potential without the weight of responsibility resting firmly on his shoulders.
Victor’s abuse and attempted murder leave the poor Creature with what many in today’s culture call a "father wound" — a deep, festering hole in the Creature’s psyche that, after even more suffering at the hands of men, boils over with bitterness and hatred, a rage that consumes and destroys.
When someone, particularly a young boy, suffers the trauma of being left behind by his father, that experience usually produces deep insecurity and a constant, seemingly insatiable need for affirmation, particularly from another man — whether that man becomes a replacement father figure, friend, or mentor. The rage that often follows a young man with this kind of wound into adulthood frequently results in abusive behavior and self-destructive tendencies. Drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence — all commonly manifest from a man's father wound.
During the film, the Creature befriends an old blind man who truly sees value in him and spends time teaching him how to read, speak, and express himself. The old man invests his life in the Creature, fulfilling the role Victor should have played. However, the wound remains and leaves business unfinished. When the old man dies tragically, the Creature believes he’s doomed to be alone in the world forever.
I won’t spoil the film any further, but it ends beautifully, though with a bittersweet tone. Overall, one of many takeaways from the thematic content within Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is that if you are not ready, prepared, or willing to take responsibility for creating a new life, you should abstain from actions that lead to that result. If you do participate in creating a new life, the only true masculine thing to do is take responsibility for that life and be present, showering your offspring with as much love and care as you can.
