Of course it had to be this way. Of course. of course.
If Victor Frankenstein is the shitty, abusive parent, of course the Creature has to be the abused and neglected child but by God, did GdT commit.
He did not have to go this hard.
He did not have to film Jacob Elordi like that, curling in on himself, folding all his miles-long limbs up into the fetal position because no one else will hold him. Watching a leaf float away, out of his cold, dark prison, with nothing short of wonder. Gazing at the camera with his big, soulful eyes. Meeting a wild and dangerous creature and gently feeding it a berry.
Being able to speak only one word, the most important one, Victor, because this - his father - is the only thing in the world to him.
And of course Victor, tragically commonly unequipped to handle the responsibility of parenthood, resents him for it. He built the Creature from the ground, exactly as he wanted, carefully chose every bone, every muscle, every neuron in his body. And yet, when he comes to life, when he breathes, and moves, and needs, Victor recoils. All his hard work, the toiling that drove him to near insanity, was only just the beginning. But this, this slow caretaking, this is different: there's no glory in it. Not the excitement of discovery, not the grandiosity of defying God and nature. This work is repetitive, frustrating, exhausting, and Victor very quickly tires of it.
I do not need to explain the metaphor.
This is usually where the story turns around and says, well, it can't be denied that the Creature is horrible to look at. He is violent and dangerous. Victor may have failed but really, can we blame him?
GdT certainly thinks so, as he cradles the Creature in his arms and tells him, You're perfect, you have never done anything wrong. I have seen people say that this Creature is too sympathetic, the film lacks subtlety and nuance, but damn, don't we need this. Don't we need to fully and unequivocally sympathise with that which is labeled grotesque, and don't we need to condemn people who fail in their responsibility to those under their care.
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