Frankenstein a Review
This week I went to my local cinema twice to see the London's National Theater production of Frankenstein (2011).
This is the Mary Shelly novel adapted by Nick Dear and directed by Danny Boyle.
And in the title roles they cast Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch with a slight twist. Mr. Miller and Mr. Cumberbatch switched the roles of Victor and the Creature each performance.
It was a powerful piece told from the Creature's point of view for the most part. And whoever was playing the Creature got quite a work out so switching made an eminent amount of sense.
Overall the writing was good. There were a couple of scenes that I would terms theatrical masturbation but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the piece as a whole.
Solid cast top to bottom and Mr. Boyle did a good job directorially but you can tell that he works in film more than theater.
The showcase of the piece are the Creature and Victor and how Mr. Miller and Mr. Cumberbatch each play the role. Having seen both, I find that Mr. Miller was a better Victor Frankenstein and Mr. Cumberbatch the Creature. They are both really strong physical actors who each take the Creature to slightly different places emotionally.
The set was minimal on purpose. This is not a drawing room drama but a character piece. The turntable was use to move the sets and people on occasion which distracted me a bit as in "oh look another turntable being use in theater".
A couple of good uses of light to create the illusion of electricity and other things did add to the piece rather than distract.
Costumes set the time and tone and really didn't need to do much beyond that. Funny detail I noticed that when Mr. Miller is playing Victor, his boots have some serious heels but Cumberbatch's boots are practically flats. There is a height different between the two men that they are trying to minimize.
The Creature make-up was amazing. More amazing was that it made it through the rigors of the play pretty much intact. It was creepy but surgically made sense which was also creepy.
Could this be done elsewhere? Of course. The play is a strong one but you need two leads that can really pull it off or it's going to fall flat.
Good evening of theatrical entertainment twice and I really can't ask more than that.
I am grateful that all the times worked out so I could see both versions.
This is the Mary Shelly novel adapted by Nick Dear and directed by Danny Boyle.
And in the title roles they cast Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch with a slight twist. Mr. Miller and Mr. Cumberbatch switched the roles of Victor and the Creature each performance.
It was a powerful piece told from the Creature's point of view for the most part. And whoever was playing the Creature got quite a work out so switching made an eminent amount of sense.
Overall the writing was good. There were a couple of scenes that I would terms theatrical masturbation but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the piece as a whole.
Solid cast top to bottom and Mr. Boyle did a good job directorially but you can tell that he works in film more than theater.
The showcase of the piece are the Creature and Victor and how Mr. Miller and Mr. Cumberbatch each play the role. Having seen both, I find that Mr. Miller was a better Victor Frankenstein and Mr. Cumberbatch the Creature. They are both really strong physical actors who each take the Creature to slightly different places emotionally.
The set was minimal on purpose. This is not a drawing room drama but a character piece. The turntable was use to move the sets and people on occasion which distracted me a bit as in "oh look another turntable being use in theater".
A couple of good uses of light to create the illusion of electricity and other things did add to the piece rather than distract.
Costumes set the time and tone and really didn't need to do much beyond that. Funny detail I noticed that when Mr. Miller is playing Victor, his boots have some serious heels but Cumberbatch's boots are practically flats. There is a height different between the two men that they are trying to minimize.
The Creature make-up was amazing. More amazing was that it made it through the rigors of the play pretty much intact. It was creepy but surgically made sense which was also creepy.
Could this be done elsewhere? Of course. The play is a strong one but you need two leads that can really pull it off or it's going to fall flat.
Good evening of theatrical entertainment twice and I really can't ask more than that.
I am grateful that all the times worked out so I could see both versions.