Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
The love affair between poet Percy Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin resulted in the creation of an immortal novel, “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.”
Mary Shelley (2017) is a competent but uneven biographical romance that traces the origins of Frankenstein through the tumultuous relationship between Mary and Percy Shelley. The plot covers familiar biopic territory—romantic idealism clashing with social convention—without finding a particularly fresh angle, though the focus on Mary's creative genesis offers modest intrigue. The acting is solid if unremarkable, with Elle Fanning bringing earnest sincerity to Mary and Douglas Booth cutting a dashing but somewhat thin Percy. Cinematography is handsome and period-appropriate without being especially distinctive. As a biopic about a female literary icon directed by a woman, it carries thematic relevance, but the execution remains fairly conventional within the prestige period-drama mold. The ending feels rushed and emotionally underdeveloped, failing to land the weight of Mary's eventual triumph and personal losses with the resonance the story deserves.