Mary Shelley

Although it takes place two centuries ago, many of the themes in Mary Shelley — and the title character’s seminal writings — still resonate today.

This intriguing if somewhat languid biopic positions the Frankenstein author as a feminist pioneer in England during the early 19th century. And while it might embellish or rearrange some historical details along the way, the film provides some compelling insight into the inspiration and the artistic process behind the enduring novel.

As the story opens, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Elle Fanning) is a London teenager who creativity is expressed in Gothic horror tales. Her parents are both renowned authors, including a supportive father (Stephen Dillane) and a mother who died shortly after childbirth but whose radical attitudes toward sexual liberation and female empowerment remain with Mary.

Desiring to break free from conventional gender roles, she thrusts herself into a whirlwind romance with young poet Percy Shelley (Douglas Booth), drawn to his work and his progressive outlook on open marriages. Percy’s secrets threaten their passionate but volatile relationship, yet they still elope and Mary becomes pregnant.

With Mary’s stepsister (Bel Powley) in tow, the couple eventually winds up as extended guests at the Swiss estate of the eccentric author Lord Byron (Tom Sturridge), where Mary’s resolve is tested, and her frustration channeled into a Gothic story of reincarnation.

The stylish film marks the English-language debut of Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour, whose previous film, Wajdja, likewise chronicled a young woman’s struggle for liberation and acceptance in an oppressive patriarchal society.

In this case, the muddled screenplay is too didactic in its narrative structure and uneven in its dialogue to be totally convincing. However, Fanning’s galvanizing performance commands the screen. She handles the accent with aplomb, and conveys an appropriate balance of strength and vulnerability.

Likewise, the film deserves credit for not positioning Mary as a victim of sexual politics or socioeconomic hardship, but rather admitting the volatility in her life was largely the result of her own impetuous choices that forced her to mature perhaps before she was ready.

Fans of Shelley and Frankenstein might know some of the basics already, and moviegoers with advanced knowledge of the era’s British literary scene will more easily be able to spot inconsistencies. Yet the film succeeds as a portrait of an independent spirit who ultimately achieved greatness too early and recognition too late.

Rated PG-13, 121 minutes.