🔗 Share this article

Out of all the unsettling images in the acclaimed director's Frankenstein, Dr. Victor Frankenstein played by Oscar Isaac drinking the white beverage stands out. Rather than his macabre scientific work or the monster given life, it's this odd behavior of consuming glass after glass of milk during the movie.

A Meaningful Role of Milk in Film

Using a figure consume the creamy liquid is often a visual cue to indicate their villainous or unbalanced. This device appears in many movies, from A Clockwork Orange to Inglourious Basterds. For example, in the Coen brothers' thriller, Javier Bardem's killer drinks milk, while in Get Out, a key character does the same once her evil intentions are revealed. Even the Star Wars installment, the legendary hero drinking unusual dairy marks a drastic shift in his persona.

Image: Lucasfilm/Disney

One notable comparison for Frankenstein is the antagonist from The Boys, where his fixation with milk highlights both his evil nature and immaturity. Similarly, the doctor's fondness for milk underscores the director's view of him as emotionally stunted.

Insights from the Film's Production Crew

In order to uncover the meaning behind this milk theme, this creative group behind the project shared their insights. As per director of photography the visual expert, who collaborated with del Toro on multiple films, the reason is simple.

"Victor is essentially a child, and he’s still innocent because he’s consuming milk," Laustsen explains. "Any normal guy would opt for alcohol or another beverage."

Image: Netflix

The costume designer, and she worked on costumes for this film and previous del Toro movies, elaborates on the metaphor.

"Victor is a manchild," Hawley says. "He is an frustrated child that’s sort of matured. The dairy is a charming, delicious, little recurring individual ritual. It connects him straight back his parent. I appreciate that self-centered, youthful aspect of Victor."

She adds that audiences can spot containers of dairy accumulating in the street near the character's home in the beginning in the film, as he meets Henrich Harlander. "It's a constant thing."

Image: Netflix

For production designer Tamara Deverell, and she worked on another del Toro film and this one, the beverage ties back to the character's parental figure.

"He was fixated on his mother," Deverell says. "He remained always a kid who never grew up, until he became a creator of the Monster. So drinking dairy is kind of a representation of adolescence, of being linked to your early years."

She also suggests that the milk may represent beyond just his lack of growth. A different reading is that it exemplifies his obsessive determination to conquer mortality through science.

"He doesn't drink," she explains. "He is focused. He's a scientist; a doctor."

Final Thoughts

Whatever the underlying significance, a key point is clear: After viewing Frankenstein, the simple drink will never appear the same any longer.

---

Frankenstein is streaming currently on the platform.