Mary Shelley

Firstly I want to say I agree with the review stating how the actors were brilliant, Elle Fanning is an absolute star, and it was a well-told story. But also that however magnificent, it still could have been better—if only for the lack of Mary's true personality that shone through. yes her darkness was depicted well, but there was more to her that would have added so much to the film. It was clearly made to embody the darkness that inspired Frankenstein, not be a complete biopic of her coming-of-age & adult life, and I'm a very dark person especially in my literary interests and in my personal writing so I didn't have an issue with watching it that way, it was still to my taste and as I said, well done and very well acted so it made up for any rougher scenes. but again agreeing with the other reviewer, it wasn't that it was unrealistically dark, it was that it didn't also add in the weight with which the passion hung over everything in spite of the dark, horrid, aggressive, morose times, and the brighter times they still had in spite of their issues and tragedies.That all being said and gotten out of the way (because it is important), my review aside from that would be this…A gorgeous film for all the goths, gothic literature lovers, modern day gothic poets, and fans of drama films but also biographies and movies about real writers in history too. some of the greatest movies are ones about writers, especially real writers who wrote iconic works in history, and it's extremely unfortunate and wasteful when a bad actor portrays them, and this is NOT what happened here - Elle Fanning is glorious and when she was still much younger I was afraid she was gonna be shoved into the shadow of her older sister Dakota forever (who is also wonderful) and this was yet another example that it didn't have to be like that because she is marvelous on her own and her absolute own creative talent. She played this Mary VERY well. Regardless, the story is inspiring, especially for writers, especially for ones who didn't come from the greatest homes in the world or struggled with certain people in our homes who ruined the chemistry that could have been in the house otherwise, and for ones who have had their traumas and tragedies invade on their dreams, making them think they would have to let go of them forever, or that they would never be of the same creative flow again when really it just becomes a slow but burning blossom throughout all of that. I as well hung out in graveyards as a kid (not like pranced around and fcked w stuff, but spent time in thought there as Mary was shown to here) and still adore going to cemeteries for introspection and inspiration for the range of lives that came and went and brought to this world, to respect their presence especially when many have been long unvisited and to add essence of them into my stories, especially because ive lost close family too already since childhood so it is another place where I can relate to Mary. and to know that such toxic parts of relationships (whether they stayed toxic forever/ending for that reason or were just toxic in part of a legendary romance that didn't end by choice) can inspire much greater work than one may expect when feeling their worst.as I said, great production/cinematography, great acting, gives great goth vibes, and brought a lot of creative inspiration (I've written quite a bit just since the beginning of the movie and on past finishing it—yes a joke about my incredibly long review can fit in that but I get it, I'm done) and I would watch it again for sure and recommend it.my only suggestion to whoever watches is to also read notable biographies on Mary Shelley and know more of her, so that this isn't your only perspective of her life and romances. she was truly even more incredible. the film still has a great message despite that it may have weighed down on what could have been enhanced. also, the settings were gorgeous and that cemetery IS FANTASTIC. bravo

The early life of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of the Gothic novel Frankenstein, is recounted in Mary Shelley (2018) a period drama/romance written by Emma Jensen and directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour. It was originally titled The Storm in Our Stars, and focuses mainly on the relationship between Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and how their relationship inspired Frankenstein—the story of a mad doctor who reanimated a corpse using electricity. It left me wishing someone had shot a jolt of electricity into this sullen and mediocre film.The year is 1814. Sixteen-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft-Godwin (Elle Fanning) lives in London with her father, writer and book seller William Godwin (Stephen Dillane), her stepmother, Mary Jane Clairmont (Joanne Froggatt), and stepsister, Claire Clairmont (Bel Powley). Mary greatly admires her birth mother, early feminist theorist Mary Wollstonecraft, who died when she was a baby. Her rebellious streak sets her at odds with her more conventional stepmother, and her father sends her away to Scotland.In Scotland, Mary meets 21-year-old poet Percy Shelley (Douglas Booth), who follows her back to London under the pretense of becoming her father’s student. The two fall in love, but things get complicated when Percy’s wife Harriet (Ciara Charteris) shows up with their young son. Bucking social convention, Mary, Percy, and Claire run away together and face financial hardship and the death of their first child.Meanwhile, Claire attracts the attention of Lord Byron (Tom Sturridge) and becomes pregnant. Together with John Polidori (Ben Hardy), they spend a few tumultuous weeks together in Geneva, where Byron challenges them to a ghost story writing contest. This inspires Mary to begin writing Frankenstein. After becoming estranged over Percy’s deplorable personality, the two reunite in her father’s bookshop and live happily ever after.Historically, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) was the daughter of radical political philosophers William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. She met Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley as a teen and they married in 1816 after Percy’s first wife, Harriet, committed suicide. Mary Shelley is mostly known for writing the Gothic novel Frankenstein (1818), which was published when she was twenty years old. Percy died in a boating accident in 1822 and Mary returned to England with their fourth and only surviving child. She went on to publish several other novels, in addition to promoting her late husband’s work.Mary Shelley plays freely with the facts. For example, although Percy did abandon his first wife to tour France and Switzerland with Mary and Claire, he did not shun their children as depicted in the film. The movie portrays Thomas Hogg as a rapist who tried to force himself on Mary—in reality they were close friends. Neither Mary and Percy’s marriage nor the birth of their second and third child, all of which occurred before Frankenstein was published, are depicted in the film. But none of these inaccuracies are too distracting, especially if you know nothing about Mary Shelley’s complicated personal life.The main problem with Mary Shelley is not its historical inaccuracy, but its lack of creativity, energy, or spark. The couple’s romance meanders its way through the trials and tribulations of a conventional period love story with a predictable ending. The only really interesting scene was when Percy, Mary, and Claire attend the Phantasmagoria and meet Lord Byron for the first time, and where Mary sees a man animate frog legs using electricity. At last, there is a hint of inspiration and color in an otherwise dreary world.Mary Shelley grossed under $2 million internationally at the box office and failed to connect with audiences and critics. It currently has a 40 percent favorability rating from critics and 47 percent audience score on RottenTomatoes. Filmmakers have been mining the romantic world of Gothic fiction since the inception of cinema, but unfortunately the lives of the authors who wrote it translate less compellingly on screen.

I have enjoyed the movie; beautifully acted and directed. However, I disagree with some of the reviews on here saying that this movie is "for teens" - definitely NOT material for anyone but adults. Baffled at the fact that it was given a PG-13 rating. I'm no prude, but the context/dialogue has no place in a developing mind.

It is a great pity that films like this that start out, I guess with good intent do not follow the historical facts, and also fail to avoid modern féministe revisionism. It is a pity especially as the Percy/Mary couple are an extraordinary experiment in living according to anarchist principles: without a master! The poet acted as an educator to the brilliant young mind of Mary and they worked together for research of the subject The work of Frankenstein was a joint effort and the glory of both was that they wrote and corrected the work to the best of their joint capabilities. Mary dreamt the idea and Shelley injected the engineering and most of the text revisions. Although Godwin also did some changes on later versions of Frankenstein. What is completely zapped from the film is that Shelley, the husband pushed and helped Mary to complete, and gave her the will to assume the creation which, could be addressed as an Androgyne oeuvre. The film should not be viewed by children trying to understand the history of a remarquable co-operation. It is a pity that the reality of the incredible achemy of such a meeting of great artists and poets, including Byron has not been properly developed in the film. The film portrays Shelley as superficial when in reality he was an incredibly well read and brilliant thinker who had already developed the Prometheus myth. "Can Man be free if woman is a slave" was written by Shelley. His Relationship with Byron was deep and valuable to both of their works and creativity. Nevertheless, the film brings back from the grave one of Britain’s finest poets and most brilliant minds and his companion and equally brilliant wife Mary and their life and work together.

I found this to be a watchable film, good to look at and well researched, as far as costumes and sets but lacking in truth as to the marriage of Mary and Percy Shelley. The acting skills of the actors playing the main characters are very good, particularly Douglas Booth as Shelley. He mentioned, in his interview in the extras section, his study of Shelley in Richard Holmes' wonderful biography 'Shelley: The Pursuit'. It is a shame that the director, producer and writer of the screen play did not also read this book before making the film! It is quite obvious that Frankenstein was a collaboration between Mary and Percy but in the interests of the feminist canon, this is not acknowledged in this film. As a woman, I make this statement: we cannot achieve equality with men by demeaning them, we can only be equal by sharing! There was no mention of Shelley's belief in social justice, no mention of his wonderful poem 'The Mask of Anarchy', in response to the horrors of the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester , in 1819. He was portrayed as some kind of Regency Buck, staggering about drunk, when he was actually a man of complicated beliefs, with a genuine love of liberty, equality, fraternity. Just look on YouTube to see the people still quoting 'The Mask of Anarchy' as a symbol of freedom for the working man and woman! 'Rise up! Rise up! Ye are many, they are few!'

The novel “Frankenstein” has never been faithfully adapted for the big screen so perhaps it’s no surprise that this biopic plays fast and loose with the facts of the life of its author, Mary Shelley. For example, Mary didn’t write “Frankenstein” in one night as this movie suggests, but took about sixteen months to do so. Harriet Shelley didn’t commit suicide while her husband and Mary were in Geneva but when they were back in England. And Fanny Imlay, Mary’s older step-sistîer who also lived in the Godwin home, is written out of this film altogether. There are several other changes to, or omissions from, Mary Shelley’s life throughout this movie. So long as you don’t mind some serious artistic license there is much to enjoy here.Director Haifaa al-Mansour’s successfully captures Mary’s life in broad strokes. He is also served by a great cast: Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth shine in their respective roles as Mary and Shelley, and are given able support by Bel Powley as Mary’s other step-sister Claire Clairmont. Tom Sturridge plays Lord Byron with scenery-chewing gusto, but perhaps that’s how Byron was; it’s certainly how he is always portrayed. Ben Hardy’s performance lends John Polidori a quiet dignity although his moving, final meeting with Mary is, alas, entirely fictional. The various elements that inspired Mary’s writing of “Frankenstein” - the loss of her daughter Clara, her estrangement from her father, the science and philosophies of the day - are all effectively portrayed .My only disappointment is that the film ends with the publication of “Frankenstein”. It may have been her biggest success, then and now, but a life so full of tragedy, drama and later triumph deserves to be told in its entirety.

Surrounded in a pub with dullards who are talking as if in an episode of Coronation Street my mind wanders to the coast of Italy, darkness descended, rain, harsh winds, and I see Mary, Percy, Polidori, Byron, Clare indulging in mind-games to keep boredom away and then Mary writes this wondrous tale of humanity as it grapples for life and only repeats death?Any cinemaphile would struggle to see their mind's image translate to the screen, but this is a worthy try to bring alive a tiny instance in the life of the universe in which a young girl's consciousness exploded with the fury of a Chandresekar star.

This story has been done many times and in many ways and I have many of the DVDs (Gothic etc) and they all have their good and bad points. I really enjoyed this one in its muted oddness and very good performances from the cast especially the main actress. The 'key' moment (the meeting of the great poets and start of Frankenstein) was not particularly covered for long so the film was more the early years and meeting with Shelley etc. I would love to see a film of the latter years, perhaps one day some one will do that film ?