Gods & Monsters (B+ or 3/4 stars)
After many decades on stage & in film, Ian McKellen was finally rewarded with his 1st of 2 Academy Award nominations for his extravagant, flamboyant, poignant turn as famed horror movie director, James Whale, in Bill Condon's well-executed, character-driven drama from 1998, 'Gods & Monsters'. James Whale was known as a suave, sophisticated, worldly Brit who came to Hollywood in 1930 to create some of the horror genre's very best: Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), Show Boat (1936), among others. But when he produced his 1st 'bomb', Hollywood ditched him by the 1940s; and so, he decided to live-out the rest of his relatively quiet life as a painter.
This film recounts the somewhat fictionalized final days of Whale in 1957, after he was recovering from, but mightily struggling with the effects of a stroke, and before he was found dead in his Pacific Palisades home pool - of which he never used. In the time period just after the Korean War, the elderly, homosexual Whale, with his great film career long behind him, is much impressed by Clay Boone (Brendan Fraser), a handsome, if troubled ex-marine who is the buff new gardener on his property. Now a painter, he asks Clay to pose for him. Reluctant at first & uncomfortable with taking off his shirt, Clay eventually does. As Whale starts sketching, the two men - who couldn't be more different, or so it seems - begin talking about their lives {past & present} & find that they have things in common. Whale develops a close, special, father/son type friendship; which eases both of them over this troubled period of their lives.
This charismatic, humorous & warm movie {clocking in at a mere 105 min. in length} is effective as both a light biodrama, as well as providing some sobering dramatic moments, as well. Sure, the performances are swell. But I also commend how Condon portrays Whale's flashbacks to his childhood, his dire time in the trenches of WWI, & his movie-making heyday. To that, there are entertaining, spot-on re-creations of glamorous parties, the old movies, as well as the astute impersonations of personalities. They include: Boris Karloff (Jack Betts), actress Elsa Lanchester (Rosalind Ayres), Princess Margaret (Cornelia O'Herlihy), director George Cukor (Martin Ferrero), actor Ernest Thesiger (Arthur Dignam), & actor Colin Clive (Matt McKenzie).
Ian McKellen is superb; infusing Whale with a potent combination of witty energy & uncertainty; a complex man whose bravado masks deep regrets. Brendan Fraser is fantastic, as well; showing that he is more than capable of giving a performance of substance & nuance, rather than most of the silly comedies & action flicks that he's known for. He portrays Clay as an outwardly assured young man who is really quite naive & rootless and initially finds Whale repulsive, then bonds with him. Lynn Redgrave provides wonderful comedic relief as Whale's meticulous, overprotective, Hungarian housekeeper, Hanna; she was rightfully nominated for an Oscar for her supporting turn, here. And I liked Lolita Davidovich as Betty, one of Clay's old flames.
I knew very little of the man responsible for those horror classics, but Bill Condon's film, here, helps to rectify that, for me. 'Gods & Monsters' - in a relatively short run time - provides a slow moving, but rich, multi-layered portrait of a director from Hollywood's Golden Age whose own life was AS interesting, if not more so, than as any of his films. I find it interesting that Condon only uses Whale's degenerative, debilitating final days as the conduit to the rest of his life, but it works. This movie won't be for all tastes, but the central performance of a legendary actor playing a legendary director is sure to intrigue & satisfy most curious audiences.
This film recounts the somewhat fictionalized final days of Whale in 1957, after he was recovering from, but mightily struggling with the effects of a stroke, and before he was found dead in his Pacific Palisades home pool - of which he never used. In the time period just after the Korean War, the elderly, homosexual Whale, with his great film career long behind him, is much impressed by Clay Boone (Brendan Fraser), a handsome, if troubled ex-marine who is the buff new gardener on his property. Now a painter, he asks Clay to pose for him. Reluctant at first & uncomfortable with taking off his shirt, Clay eventually does. As Whale starts sketching, the two men - who couldn't be more different, or so it seems - begin talking about their lives {past & present} & find that they have things in common. Whale develops a close, special, father/son type friendship; which eases both of them over this troubled period of their lives.
This charismatic, humorous & warm movie {clocking in at a mere 105 min. in length} is effective as both a light biodrama, as well as providing some sobering dramatic moments, as well. Sure, the performances are swell. But I also commend how Condon portrays Whale's flashbacks to his childhood, his dire time in the trenches of WWI, & his movie-making heyday. To that, there are entertaining, spot-on re-creations of glamorous parties, the old movies, as well as the astute impersonations of personalities. They include: Boris Karloff (Jack Betts), actress Elsa Lanchester (Rosalind Ayres), Princess Margaret (Cornelia O'Herlihy), director George Cukor (Martin Ferrero), actor Ernest Thesiger (Arthur Dignam), & actor Colin Clive (Matt McKenzie).
Ian McKellen is superb; infusing Whale with a potent combination of witty energy & uncertainty; a complex man whose bravado masks deep regrets. Brendan Fraser is fantastic, as well; showing that he is more than capable of giving a performance of substance & nuance, rather than most of the silly comedies & action flicks that he's known for. He portrays Clay as an outwardly assured young man who is really quite naive & rootless and initially finds Whale repulsive, then bonds with him. Lynn Redgrave provides wonderful comedic relief as Whale's meticulous, overprotective, Hungarian housekeeper, Hanna; she was rightfully nominated for an Oscar for her supporting turn, here. And I liked Lolita Davidovich as Betty, one of Clay's old flames.
I knew very little of the man responsible for those horror classics, but Bill Condon's film, here, helps to rectify that, for me. 'Gods & Monsters' - in a relatively short run time - provides a slow moving, but rich, multi-layered portrait of a director from Hollywood's Golden Age whose own life was AS interesting, if not more so, than as any of his films. I find it interesting that Condon only uses Whale's degenerative, debilitating final days as the conduit to the rest of his life, but it works. This movie won't be for all tastes, but the central performance of a legendary actor playing a legendary director is sure to intrigue & satisfy most curious audiences.