The alteration of the relationship between Victor and professor Krempe does not change the meaning of the story, it only makes it more intense. I believe that the most important change regards the character of Victor. Reading the book one has the freedom to make his own judgement and evaluation of the character while the movie imposes a certain evaluation. Reading the book I had the impression that Victor was sorry for what he had done. He realized his error and what he was living was actually a drama. In the movie he is depicted as a person who is concerned with bringing the dead to life and that's that. In a certain way he seems to be punished for his ambition. His drama was that while trying to win the battle with death he did nothing but bring even more death in his life. In the book he loses everything, even the woman who he is supposed to marry. Ion the movie Elizabeth is reborn, which...
I believe that this changes the meaning of the story a bit and I personally dislike it. With the book the reader gets to meditate upon the condition of the human being who is so weak in front of death. Eventually you get to feel powerless. Shelley demonstrates that
science can not make us immortal and even if it could it would be wrong. One does not get to reflect upon these things only by seeing the movie because the visual impact is too big. One gets distracted by the plot of the story. Reading the book one can identify himself with Victor while the movie draws you in a whirlpool of emotions and the viewer remains outside the story.
The casting was very good and this contributed a lot to reinforcing the images I had created in my head while
reading the book. The setting was just I had imagined it, but the depiction of Victor that I had in my mind was focused more on his human dimension and not the professional one. The biggest advantage of the film is the emotional impact which it causes through the mixture of imagery and sound. There is an emotional impact when reading the book as well but the emotions are easier to control. I believe that a written story can no have the same emotional impact as a movie because it requires more intellectual effort, more rationalization, while the movie makes you abandon yourself to a whirlpool of sensations and emotions.
All in all the film was a good adaptation of the book, much better than other productions and it be considered that the director has managed to achieve his purpose while respecting Mary Shelley's book.
