Mary Shelley | Haifaa Al-Mansour | Tribeca 2018
Directed by Saudi Arabian filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, Mary Shelley tells the story of the famed author of the same name, writer of the timeless 1818 classic Frankenstein. The film, written by first-time screenwriter Emma Jensen depicts the life of the young author in the many years before Frankenstein’s creation.
When Mary (Elle Fanning) was just 16 she struck up an affair with Percy Shelley (Douglas Booth), who began staying with the house working under Mary’s author/philosopher father (Stephen Dillane). He forbids their love affair but being young lovers they decide to run away, bringing along Mary’s sister Claire (Bel Powley) along for the ride.
They’re free and liberated but in for a rude awakening as the world is a cold dark place, as is love. Of course, Mary and Percy’s relationship goes about as smoothly as you’d expect.
Mary dreams of being a published author but struggles to find anyone who believes in her. The 1800s were not the most accepting times to be a woman, let alone a woman who writes. But with all this turbulence and heartbreak, during a writing session at the fancy estate of Claire’s newfound lover Lord Byron (Tom Sturridge), she comes up with the story that will change it all: Frankenstein.
Al-Mansour captures the period drama in a gothic fashion that certainly suites the film well. Her vision fits the mood of the story put onto the page by Jensen, even if the script feels fairly familiar and at times, surface level.
But like Shelley, Elle Fanning is a wunderkind, a talented young actor who has already proven to be one of the best young stars in Hollywood today. She, along with the talented cast of Bel Powley, Douglas Booth, Tom Sturridge, and Maisie Willaims help propel the story forward and bring the story to life, even if it’s lacking in some technical areas.
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