Product: Gods and Monsters (1998)
Rating: 5.0
A classic film: great story and superb acting
I feel like cynically following the headline above by observing that this film was a box-office disaster. So far as I can tell, $10m was allotted to film it, and it raked in a whopping $6m at the box-office.Well, so what. As Ezra Pound wisely commented about books, many years ago, "Pay no attention to literary prizes, not even the Nobel." And how wise his words were! So I regard the fact that this film won an Oscar for its screenplay as nice, but not thrilling.It is not hard to see why the film failed at the box-office. There are no car chases, no explosions, no good-looking babes removing their wet T-shirts: it is very far from being a film for "Joe Six-Pack," as another trenchant reviewer pointed out.What it is, is a masterpiece. I doubt that I will ever see Ian McKellen give a better performance -- unless I win the lottery and can travel to England for a live performance! :-) But, much more interesting than that, is the simple fact that the entire film is superbly acted, from the first frame to the last. There is not a bad performance in the lot; more surprisingly, there is not even a weak performance!I found the story to be extremely moving and involving -- approximately a hundred times more interesting than the clumsy mechanics on display in "Brokeback Mountain." It is a movie with a gay theme...well, no. Let's say more than that: it is the story of an old man, James Whale, who is utterly and completely gay. "Jimmy" has suffered a stroke, and his mind is beginning to go. This overwhelming, unbearable reality is dealt with while two other people observe, take part, and try to help: his long-time maid, and his handsome gardener. This may seem like a very unlikely story to interest anyone, but for me it is simply one of the finest films ever made. My highest congratulations to everyone involved with the project. And I'll predict that, before long, "Gods and Monsters" will be made part of the Criterion Collection, and will begin its journey into film immortality. It is THAT GOOD.