Sophomoric storytelling dismantles Victor Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein opens at a circus, setting the tone for the rest of the film. The persistent exaggerated dramatics would be appropriate if the film were a comedy or a satire of Frankenstein movies, but Victor Frankenstein is not funny or clever (or scary). Apparently striving for sincerity, the film manages only to sew together a silly assemblage of characters and scenes that doesn’t entertain or enlighten.

In late 19th century London, Igor (Daniel Radcliffe) works as a clown in the Barnaby circus because his physical deformity leaves him no other employment option. Between shows, his co-workers abuse him. Igor blocks out his misery by spending his free time poring through medical textbooks.

When his only friend, trapeze artist Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay), falls during her act, Igor’s treatment saves her life. His quick actions impress Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), a physician who happens to be at the circus collecting the body parts of dead animals for his experiments.

Victor invites Igor to join him in his laboratory, helping him escape the circus. But Barnaby’s owner accuses Victor and Igor of robbery and murder. Inspector Turpin (Andrew Scott) investigates the reported crimes but turns his attention to Victor and Igor’s ghoulish surgical research.

Victor’s first chimeric achievement, a mostly monkey monster, doesn’t survive long. Victor and Igor go back to the drawing board, where Igor’s medical insights improve version 2.0. They patch together an oversized humanoid with twice the number of internal organs. With Turpin breathing down their necks, a rich benefactor, Finnegan (Freddie Fox), helps Victor and Igor relocate their experiments to the Scottish countryside. The film ends at Finnegan’s castle in a showdown of the good, the bad, and the ugly—although it’s hard to sort out one from the other.

The director would have moviegoers believe Turpin, who carries a cross on a pendant and cries out, “That man is in allegiance with Satan!” is the crackpot. But consider Igor’s congratulations to Victor: “You’ve made life out of nothing!” No, but from such scientific hubris monstrous deeds arise.

The film (rated PG-13 for macabre images, violence, and a scene of destruction) does have a few bright spots, like the extravagantly furnished interior sets. A glass and metal vineyard of beakers and wires sprawls through Victor’s cavernous underground laboratory. Large gears interlock and slowly rotate, and exotic machinery churns and spews steam. Of the cast, Findlay’s sympathetic and believable Lorelei stands out among caricatures and hams.

A show under the big top is fun when the ringmaster, jugglers, and audience all understand they’re part of a circus. But when the bearded lady on stilts thinks she’s doing Hamlet on Broadway, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.