LISA FRANKENSTEIN surprised me at every turn. It was also just good fun.
LISA FRANKENSTEIN (dir. Zelda Williams) follows dorky outsider Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) as she brings to life the perfect boyfriend: he listens, he nurtures, he kills for her…he himself is also dead. The Creature (Cole Sprouse) is a Frankenboyfriend who comes to life in a green thunderstorm that broils above Lisa’s new hometown. She’s had to move there on account of her mother being chopped by an ax murderer and her father marrying the villainous beauty Janet (played bitingly by Carla Gugino). Lisa is blessed with a cheerleading step-sister (sweet job by Liza Soberano) who actually cares about her, but it’s clear Lisa is apprehensive about the new sorority. Her feckless father (Joe Chrest) merely watches as Janet berates his daughter and threatens to send her to “the looney bin”. Thus, between the evil step-mother, the hapless dad, and the beautifully overshadowing sister, Lisa is placed perfectly as the victim of misunderstanding. She feels unseen, underappreciated, and otherworldly in her desires. These very desires are answered by the coming of The Creature.
There are a lot of intriguing qualities to this film. I would say the most striking is the acting prowess of the cast! What a marvelous job, particularly to Newton, Soberano, and Sprouse. Sprouse, having almost no lines, was left to characterize through physicality and grunts alone. He did a splendid job at this! Newton played the dork part convincingly, awkwardly biting on thread when speaking to her much cooler crush and absconding to the Bachelor’s Cemetery when things just don’t feel right in her life. As Lisa’s character grows more blood thirsty and power hungry, Newton taps into a viscous confidence, exposing that Lisa has always been capable of evil and violence. So savage is her newfound sensibility that she demands The Creature take her to the house of her crush where she will seduce him into taking her virginity while The Creature waits in the car. Her callousness is heightened by the despaired facial expressions of The Creature who has completely and totally fallen in love with Lisa. This is a sort of character arch that was quite unexpected and exciting! As always, Diablo Cody just finds a way to make it all flow naturally.
Overall, the film was extremely thoughtful. From its animations to its set design, from the soundtrack to the acting, the film clearly came from a genuine desire to make something good. And at that–they succeeded!
Congratulations to everyone!
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