Product: Gods and Monsters (1998)
Rating: 5.0
A Funny, Informative, And Moving Film
GODS AND MONSTERS(1998)---Sir Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes, Kevin J. O'Conner.This film is based on Christopher Bram's fictionalized novel about James Whale, the English director who made FRANKENSTEIN; BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN; THE OLD DARK HOUSE; and THE INVISIBLE MAN, among other films. Although not a true biography of Whale, the film is historically accurate in many respects. We learn that Whale was born to poor, lower-class parents(a fact which deeply affected him as an adult), that he served in WWI(the horror of which was something else that left an indelible mark on him), that he began his career in the theater and had an enormous stage success with the play, "Journey's End", which resulted in his being summoned to Hollywood to direct films, and that he was openly homosexual at a time in Hollywood when doing so could be disastrous for one's career---his long-time "companion" was David Lewis, who had a successful career as a producer---first at MGM, then at Warner Bros.---among the films he produced/co-produced were: RIFFRAFF; CAMILLE; ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO; KING'S ROW; IN THIS OUR LIFE; and RAINTREE COUNTY.Sir Ian McKellen was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Whale and he is wonderful to watch in this film. Fraser plays a young ex-Marine who works as Whale's gardener and Redgrave plays Whale's devoted, but devoutly Catholic, housekeeper who fears for his salvation due to his homosexuality. Among Whale's avocations is painting and he asks Fraser if he would agree to let him paint his portrait in return for being paid to do so. Aware of his sexual orientation, Fraser agrees but makes it clear that he won't do any of that "nude stuff". Whale suffers a stroke(historically true) which leaves him physically unaffected but affects his mind so that he begins to have flashbacks to events from his past, primarily from WWI. Over time, McKellen and Fraser develop a friendship and we learn much that is historically true about the making of some of Whale's classic horror films and the sexual proclivities of some other famous Hollywood figures(most prominently, director George Cukor, who was a "closet homosexual").As Whale's flashbacks become more frequent, his doctors confirm that he will eventually sink into a "mental twilight", unable to live in the "present". In the climactic scene of the film, Whale pours out his terror of losing his mind and not being able to do anything creative---even paint. In an attempt to comfort his friend, Fraser agrees to let Whale paint him in the nude, but stresses that there is to be no "hanky-panky". Whale begins to suffer one of his flashbacks and begins to think that Fraser is the young lover he met while serving in the trenches. He begins to try and make love to Fraser, who becomes angry and throws Whale to the floor, bringing him back to reality. Whale is horribly embarrassed, begs his forgiveness, and assures him that nothing like that will ever happen again. The next morning, Fraser discovers Whale's lifeless body floating in the swimming pool---a suicide who can't live with the thought of losing his mind. Whale's body was found in his pool in 1957 and was ruled a suicide.I think this is a wonderful film---by turns funny, informative, and deeply moving. In addition to McKellen's superb performance, both Fraser and Redgrave are completely convincing in their roles and the cinematography is beautiful. Highly recommended