Product: Gods and Monsters (1998)
Rating: 5.0
A Whale Of A Movie
This had to be one of the best movies of 1998 and one that holds up well after many viewings. Based on the novel by Christopher Braum, FATHER OF FRANKENSTEIN, and directed by Bill Condon (winner of an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay), GODS AND MONSTERS is the fictionalized account of the last days of James Whale-- "Mr. Jimmy" to his doting houskeeper played brilliantly by Lynn Redgrave-- who made the original FRANKENSTEIN and other Hollywood movies. Although the plot is rather thin at times, the acting is superb. Ian McKellen as the ailing but still dapper Whale has not lost his eye for attractive men and is still handsome in his silks, wools and tweeds. Brendan Fraser as the yard man gets so into his role that you can almost smell his sweat; but Lynn Redgrave as the housekeeper is simply wonderful. She is totally in character-- just watch her at any given moment-- and should have won an Oscar for this performance instead of another fine British actress Judi Dench who won that year for Best Supporting Actress. With another director and other, lesser actors, this film could have degenerated into another tasteless story of a sad, aging homosexual. But it did not. It is rife with both humor and pathos. Mr. Whale's meeting with Princess Margaret-- with his yardman in tow-- is hilarious, for example, while the flashbacks into his love for a World War I comrade are the stuff that tragedy is made of.This is a really very fine movie.