O happy day

[bironic]

Festivids assignment is great, yay. It's funny: After reading various Dear Festividder letters, I'd added one source to my initial list of offers, and that is what got matched. Also have locked down what I want to make as a treat. It's going to be hard, but I think worth an attempt.

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Went to see the National Theatre Live recording of Frankenstein last night. What an absolute joy. Jonny Lee Miller was a revelation as the creature. The way his extraordinary movements and speech channeled both toddlers and grievously wounded people struggling through rehabilitation (he said in a pre-show featurette); the way he conveyed the creature's incredible intelligence and longing for human connection. Benedeuce Cucumber put his ice to good use as a hubristic, minimally sympathetic Victor with little interest in that same human connection. It would have been fascinating to be able to see them in the reversed roles, too, although it's hard to imagine the other way around would have been better.

And Elizabeth, my God, what a wonderful characterization, well performed by Naomie Harris. Updated a bit to give voice to modern sentiments, but at the same time the feminism and interest in science and frustration with limited roles for women that Elizabeth expressed are the same ones Mary Shelley poured into her work.

Spectacular makeup. Gorgeous staging. Unexpected humor. Very clear exploration of the main themes of the novel, the disastrous consequences of unnatural procreation and the injustice of the rejection of people based on appearance. They were not subtle, from the opening moment where the creature is birthed from a giant womb and Victor discovers he doesn't have the control over it he assumed he would. Yet they worked well. Victor and the creature arguing over a child-creation's freedom and the responsibilities of the father-creator. Elizabeth questioning Victor's decision to reproduce alone, godlike, instead of with her, naturally. Victor's father, distraught, asking what happened to the son he'd known. Victor freaking out over the thought that the creature and its bride might birth a whole race of monsters. The decision to have the creature rape Elizabeth before killing her seemed unnecessary until I realized that it had been done to serve the same theme. Sex without progeny, instead of progeny without sex. Victor had already spent the entire play using rape language to describe his triumph over the natural world.

Marvelous moments of hope, and the writing and acting were such that you cared about everyone so the fragility of the creature's two friendships, and the possibility of his reaching an understanding with Victor, caused real tension, and then the fracturing of those relationships caused real disappointment/distress.

And I liked the indications that Frankenstein had a nonnormative sexuality, either asexual (passion was for science and achievement, not other people) or homosexual ("He's always been... peculiar," his admitting to desiring the creature, even though he then backtracked and said it was desiring his destruction).

Not that the production didn't have its faults (such as: anti-science, anti-scientist, almost as many moments of "ew" regarding Victor's and the creature's attitudes toward women as there were positives, a bit of cognitive dissonance surrounding the [otherwise awesome] fact that the Frankenstein family was black except for BC, etc.), but for me the high points outweighed them.

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It's going to be a Star Trekky weekend: Jeffrey Combs tonight, George Takei on Monday. \o/

Happy Halloween! Are you dressing up? Do you wish you were?

Comments

[shadowfireflame.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'm so glad you got to see this! I had the chance to see both the casting and reverse-casting (thoughts here (http://shadowfireflame.livejournal.com/45017.html)), and in my opinion you saw the most convincing one (Johnny as the Creature and Benedict as Victor). Both actors are phenomenal, of course, but that casting felt the most real and riveting to me. And of course Naomie Harris was fantastic!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Great review! Thanks for the link. I left you a comment over there, as you've doubtless already noticed.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

We're going to have a showing of Frankenstein here too pretty soon, and I'm really looking forward to it - even more so after reading your praise for JLM's performance.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Really thought it was an intense performance of a complex character(ization). Look forward to hearing your reaction when you get to see it!

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Ooh, so interested to read your thoughts on Frankenstein! I thought as an ensemble production, JLM as the Creature works much better. BC tends to make it All About Him, which is amazing in itself, but not good for the production *g*. Yes, I thought the rape fit with the subtext of the play and wasn't gratuitous - wasn't strictly necessary, but did serve the plot. Naomie Harris was wonderful - she and the old man whose name I know but who escapes me right now were the high point of the rest of the actors.

I was so enthused about Frankenstein I have an entire tag here (I've seen the BC-Creature casting twice, and the reverse once), or commentary on the differences between the two versions here, just in case you were interested *g*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I recall your having had a lot to say about the production :) , and am looking forward to checking out the tag - thanks for the handy link!

[no-detective.livejournal.com]

Yay that you got to see it! I was lucky enough to attend the screenings of both castings, and I found JLM as the creature to be PERFECT. I'd say you saw the superior version. :)

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

I saw the other version of Frankenstein, with Cumberbatch as the creature, and he was AMAZING. Miller had blown out his voice so that made it harder to appreciate what he was doing, but overall the production knocked my socks off. Loved the production design especially. So glad you got to enjoy it too!