What could have happened in the last month of James Whale`s life in Hollywood in 1957 is the subject of Gods and Monsters - Whale played wonderfully by Sir Ian McKellan has suffered a mild stroke which, while not affecting him physically, causes his mind to flash to painful times in his life. He has a contempt for the gradual debilitating future awaiting him. And then into his life comes handsome gardener Clayton Boone - Brendan Fraser. This young man, who bears a not accidental resemblance to Whale`s monster, is wary of his overtly homosexual employer. He gets, however, no sympathy from Whale`s devoted housekeeper Anna - Lynn Redgrave.
This is a multi-layered, highly enjoyable film. Whale`s mischievous ironic wit which masks disappointment and pain is vastly entertaining. Rarely do we come to grips with a man facing his own mortality in film without syrupy sentiment and without manipulative hystrionics. With Gods and Monsters, co-writer and director Bill Condon pinpoints a crucial moment in Whale`s life in the perspective of his life as a whole - his humble beginnings in England, his experiences during World War 1 and his early success in Hollywood, which sadly began to elude him in the late 1930`s. It`s such an impressive film from Condon, marked by not only outstanding performances from Ian McKellan and Lynn Redgrave, but also from Brendan Fraser - who shows an intelligence and subtlety in his portrayal of a man who develops a compassion for his nemesis. Really one of the best films of recent times.
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