Kenneth Branagh Film Mary example essay topic

In Kenneth Branagh film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the director, Kenneth Branagh sticks to the major themes of the original book with minute changes. There are many similarities and differences between the book and Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the book. I believe Mary Shelley wanted readers to catch the themes of child abandonment, presented in Victor abandoning his creature. She also wanted readers to have compassion and sympathy for the abandoned creature that Victor created out of dead body parts. Shelley wanted the creature to be similar to Victor in many ways. Shelley wanted to show the relation between life and death, and the unbreakable laws of nature.

Shelley wanted readers to realize that we need to accept life and death, and not try to control it because life is the 'Act of God'; and we cannot change that. She was implying that there are consequences for fooling with these laws of life and death. Even if you can create life out of dead body parts, just doing that, may ruin your whole perspective of the world, and throw anyone into a state of depression. This movie 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'; by Kenneth Branagh is a good representation of the original book overall, except for a few changes in plot, setting, characters, , and the relationships between them. There are many similarities and differences in the plot between the book and the latest Frankenstein film.

Kenneth Branagh wanted to show the main ideas of this book so he tried not to change the plot to much. In the original book the explanation of how the creature was made was not to clear so Branagh could try to imply that it is possible to create a life out of dead body parts. Shelley expressed the creation of the creature in the book was something like unnatural childbirth. Kenneth Branagh interpreted this and used amniotic fluid in a metal encasing, and put needles into certain pressure points of the body. This was almost like a manmade womb, and it surely represented the theme of unnatural childbirth that Shelley brings to our attention in her novel. The little girl the creature saves in the book is about to drown when the creature saves her.

In the film a man is trying to hurt the little girl and the creature pushes the guy out of the way, to save her. Then he gets invited into the cottage by a blind man, but when Felix a family member of the blind man shows up he hits the creature with a broomstick many times showing how many people see only what's on the outside. In the book Felix tried to shoot him. In the film Elizabeth got her heart ripped out by the creature, and in the book it is not written specifically what the murder method was.

The huge plot change near the end, really amazed me. Victor had to bring Elizabeth back to life, because he wanted her so bad. When she realized what Victor had done she committed suicide. In the book, this did not happen there was only a funeral. Why would such a great director, want to poison such a great film, with such a terrible idea that Mary Shelley did not include in her novel. The main characters remain the same in the movie, as they were in the book.

The book shows the good and evil qualities of all the characters, and so did the film. In the book and in the film, Victor grows up a very spoiled child, who got lots of love, but not much discipline. He says about his parents in the book, ' they seemed to draw inexhaustible stores of affection from a very mine of love to bestow them on me. ' ; (Page 33) They did the same in the book. Victors mother said,' ; You are the kindest, cutest, most wonderful est boy in the whole world'; , in the second scene of the film. The result of being raised this way was Victor became a very selfish, and immature person.

Victors mother dies of scarlet fever in the book, after nursing her daughter to health. In the film she dies during childbirth, while giving birth to William. In the book the point of view of the Saville family puts attention on Victor and his creature. In the film the Saville families point of view is not present, which puts focus on Walton. The characters are very similar to the book overall in the film.

The settings in the book compared to the settings in the film are very similar. You just cannot expect a book to be fit completely into a two hour segment. The settings that are there are similar. Geneva and Ingolstadt are key places in this book. The settings are not changed to noticeably.

One change I noticed was when the Creature and Victor met on top of a glacier, they met in a hut. In the film they met in an ice cave on top of a glacier. The cameraman did a good job with all the settings, reminding me so much of the book. I enjoyed both the film and the book, because they were both similar when it came to the central themes. The movie and book had many similarities and differences in plot, setting, and characters. All in all Kenneth Branagh did a great job of interpreting the novels themes and main points.

Congratulations, Kenneth Branagh, I hope you enjoy spending your money!