# Gods and Monsters (1998)

### reviewed by
Bob Bloom

Gods and Monsters (1998) 4 stars out of 4. Starring Ian McKellan, Brendan Fraser and Lynn Redgrave. Written and directed by Bill Condon.

"Gods and Monsters" is the story of two men who separated by age and class, eventually form a strange alliance in which they found commonality and forge an unease bond.

What makes this film, written and directed by Bill Condon, so fascinating is that it is based on the life of a real person - movie director James Whale, who died in 1957 under mysterious circumstances.

Whale's death was ruled a suicide. He was found floating in his pool, fully clothed.

Whale's glory days were well past him at the time of his death. He had not been behind the camera in more than 15 years and had been virtually forgotten by Hollywood.

If you're not a fan of horror films than James Whale's name may mean nothing to you. But, he directed four groundbreaking films in the genre in the early and mid-1930s: "Frankenstein," "The Old Dark House," "The Invisible Man" and "The Bride of Frankenstein."

Ironically, this soft-spoken British gentleman also directed the definitive version of one of the great Broadway musicals of all time, "Showboat."

Condon has adapted Christopher Bram's novel, "Father of Frankenstein," which takes a fictional look at the circumstances surrounding Whale's death.

"Gods and Monsters" is the story of Whale's relationship with Clayton Boone, his young gardener. Boone is an ex-Marine, trying to eke out a living while searching for fulfillment in his life.

Whale slowly draws the young man into his orbit as Boone becomes fascinated with the older man's stories of his early days in Hollywood as well as his harrowing experiences in the trenches during World War I.

Whale, who was openly homosexual at a time when most in Hollywood kept their sexual preferences in the closet, subtly tries to seduce the young man, but not for the reasons one would expect.

For Whale is a sick man. He is recovering from a stroke. His past continually intrudes into his thought processes. He continually sees people and events from his childhood, his military days and his time on the set of "Bride of Frankenstein."

Whale has trouble sleeping, he cannot concentrate on his paintings or sketches. He is weary, lonesome and afraid.

With Boone as his unwitting subject, Whale transforms the inexperienced and somewhat naive gardener into his "second monster."

But, just as in his horror films, this real-life monster cannot be totally controlled to do its master's bidding.

As Whale, Ian McKellen gives an Academy Award-worthy performance. His Whale is sophisticated, sly, subtle, urbane, charming and witty. He is also frightened, bedeviled and lonely, at odds with a world in which he feels out of step.

McKellen shows the dissatisfaction of a forgotten old man surviving on little more than memories as well as the artist who, despite his infirmities still can construct a real-life script that can manipulate his actors.

Brendan Fraser gives a touching performance as Clay, the young man out of his depth and confused by this artist who introduces him into a world in which he is not equipped, either mentally or emotionally, to cope.

Fraser displays the volatile nature that seethes in the underbelly of this dissatisfied young man who resents being manipulated by Whale. "I am not your monster," he shouts at Whale.

He refuses to commit the ultimate act for his new patron, showing that spark of humanity that parallels the monster's mercy that saves Henry Frankenstein in the finale of "Bride of Frankenstein."

Lynn Redgrave is fierce as Hanna, Whale's protective and domineering housekeeper. She dotes on her employer without indulging his every whim. She is disapproving of his lifestyle and suspicious of Clay, yet comes to accept their odd relationship.

Condon creates some wonderful imagery as he brings his camera into Whale's mind, showing us flashes of the director's unhappy childhood, his brutal war experiences and his creative endeavors in filmmaking.

"Gods and Monsters" is more than historical fiction. It is a paean to a talented, yet almost forgotten moviemaker whose contributions to the early sound days of Hollywood need to be re-examined.

Perhaps "Gods and Monsters" greatest achievement will be to resurrect Whale's body of works for a new generation of filmgoers to appreciate.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net

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