By

Mary Shelley

Lifeless

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, the well educated, ambitious and literate daughter of a renowned philosopher, created in 1816 a tale that still resonates today. This is not the first examination of the events and influences that led her writing of “Frankenstein”. Nor is it the best or the worst. But such a trailblazing woman perhaps deserves something more, well, electric than this frustratingly straightforward literary biopic. The problem is it’s played more for the romantic melodrama than for any probe into the creative process. A jolt or two of narrative lightning here and there would certainly have helped. (120 min)