Gods and Monsters starring Ian
McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn
Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David
Dukes
Incredible Acting
One of the most critically acclaimed films of 1998 and winner of several
awards including the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Gods and
Monsters is a compassionate speculation about the final days of James
Whale (1889-1957), the director of Frankenstein and 20 other films of the
1930s and 40s, who was openly gay at a time when homosexuality in
Hollywood was discreetly concealed. Adapted and directed by Bill Condon
from Christopher Brams novel Father of Frankenstein, the film stars Ian
McKellen in a sublime performance as the white-haired Whale, who is
portrayed as a dapper gent and amateur artist prompted by failing health
into melancholy remembrance of things past. Flashbacks of lost love,
World War I battle trauma, and glory days in Hollywood combine with
Whales present-day attraction to a newly hired yard worker (Brendan
Fraser) whose hunky, Frankenstein-like physique makes him an ideal
model for Whales fixated sketching. The friendship between the
handsome gardener and his elderly gay admirer is by turns tenuous,
humorous, mutually beneficial, and ultimately rather sad--but to Condons
credit Whale is never seen as pathetic, lecherous, or senile. Equally rich is
the rapport between Whale and his long-time housekeeper (played with
wry sarcasm by Lynn Redgrave), who serves as protector, mother, and
even surrogate spouse while Whales mental state deteriorates.
Flashbacks to Whales filmmaking days are painstakingly authentic
(particularly in the casting of look-alike actors playing Boris Karloff and
Elsa Lanchester), and all of these ingredients combine to make Gods and
Monsters (executive produced by horror novelist-filmmaker Clive Barker) a
touchingly affectionate film that succeeds on many levels. It is at once a
keen glimpse of Hollywoods past, a loving tribute to James Whale, and a
richly moving, delicately balanced drama about loneliness, memory, and
the passions that keep us alive. --Jeff Shannon
Personal Review: Gods and Monsters starring Ian McKellen,
Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes
It hardly seems like 11 years since Gods and Monsters was released. I
had the opportunity to view it again just recently and I am happy to say that
this film remains as rich and full as I had recalled it being. The
performance by Sir Ian McKellan reminds us just how masterful he is as an
actor, and Brendan Frasier gives a nuanced performance that is subtle and
reflective and reminds one that much of the art of acting is listening and
reacting. Lynne Redgrave spectacularly burst back onto the scene, giving
a performance as Whales maid/friend/caretaker that is richly complex: She
is a friend and employee, both loving and judgmental of Whale for his
homosexual lifestyle.
The story is a simple one of friendship and understanding. It is about the
ghosts which haunt us all. The Gods that have created us and the
Monsters which have torn us down, and how sometimes the Monsters are
what we need the most. Director Condon expertly intersperses clips from
Whales The Bride of Frankenstein with flashbacks to WWI, Whales bygone
days of fame, and young Jimmy Whales childhood in order to give us an
overview of the remarkable life this man has led. The result is that while
Whale may seem like a broken down old man at the point the movie takes
place, these flash backs paint a full picture of the man. Likewise, this lets
us understand how Whale feels that all that he was is slipping away, just
like his art is falling by the wayside. In the end, we see an immensely
dignified, human being, who did wonderful things. He loved. He lost. He
fought in the war. He was a hedonist. He was a pacifist. And he was loved.
With Clayton Boone, the director and Brendan Frasier, give us a modern
day physicality of the Frankenstein monster which first draws Whale to the
young man. In the beginning, were not quite sure what Whale wants from
the lad -- does he desire a true friendship or is he just a lecherous old
man-but as things progress we realize that while the friendship is
important, his desire for the young Boone are a bit dark er that even we
could have thought. Likewise were not sure what Clayton wants from
Whale. But as we watch them become friends, we see a unique bond
form...gay man to straight man...and each has found in the other someone
to listen to them and understand.
Perhaps unsung in this movie is the brilliant performance by Redgrave.
Her housekeeper Hanna is not only an homage to Una OConners Minnie
in The Bride of Frankenstein, but an expert characterization that is
humorous and judgmental and, ultimately, loving. The characterization is
as broad as Whale might have directed OConner, but the humanity
underneath it all is very, very real.
Gods and Monsters is clearly fiction. No one really knows about the last
days of Whale. But in that speculation, the film manages to paint a portrait
of a man who was ahead of his time and who lived a life worth living. In
the end, Director Condon and novelist Christopher Bram -- whose book
The Father of Frankenstein serves as the underlying source of the movie --
gave Whale a friend in his last days, a young man named Clayton who
was as different from Whale as he could be. They gave him a friendship,
and as a result they have created a sad, touching, joyful movie about living
and dying with dignity.
As the Monster himself would say: Alone, bad...Friend, good.
Originally reviewed for Uniquely Pleasurable.
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