GODS AND MONSTERS
SYNOPSIS:
The movie opens in 1957. Hollywood director James Whale (Ian McKellen) has been out of the
movie industry for some 20 years. These days, he is tended by his fiercely protective
housekeeper, Hanna (Lynn Redgrave), and he is fascinated by the newly hired gardener,
Clayton Boone (Brendan Fraser), a handsome drifter who loves Whale's stories of the old
days. During long visits with Whale, the younger man triggers painful memories in
flashback for the old man. Remembering his losses, both professional and personal, Whale
plunges into melancholy.
"Haunting and powerful, Gods and Monsters is an extraordinary film, rich with
emotion, valuable in integrity. It starts with a witty, economical script whose structure
perfectly suits the intertwining of past and present. The settings are gorgeous, the
cinematography splendid and the direction artistically unobtrusive. It is an intensely
personal story – an intimate journey into a man's life, his thoughts, his dreams. A
man who knows himself well, likes himself and accepts himself totally, quirks and all. Ian
McKellan steals our attention with a detailed performance that is nothing short of
magnificent. His every minute on screen is marvellous – he is wilful, sordid,
playful, pitiful, urbane and unequivocally entertaining. He has us in the palm of his hand
– this is a performance to celebrate. But he is not alone. Lynn Redgrave is
remarkable as the housekeeper whose contempt for her employer is only matched by her
undying loyalty for him. The catalyst is another man, who is not so confident – of
himself or his sexuality. And Brendan Fraser is terrific. Gods and Monsters, with its
haunting score and moving cinematic sequences, is outstanding cinema – an experience
that only superlatives can describe, and one you should not miss."
Louise Keller
"The most refreshing thing about Gods and Monsters is that it doesn’t feel
like a biopic at all. It is at once a character study and a romantic comedy, a profile and
a human drama, a morality play and a frolic. Already eulogised for his performance in
other quarters, Ian McKellan is riveting, emotive, propulsive, funny and pathetic –
all within the confines of his face. The probe is deep enough to matter but never
academic, as we tour the life of James Whale, film director and homosexual, dandy and
ruffian, sage and innocent, artist and phoney. He is atypical yet so recognisable as the
wandering talent in a world that he finds alien. The film’s great asset is its
abandon of awe in search of the man. Brendan Fraser is never out of his league as the
young object of McKellan’s affection, and Redgrave gives us a comic yet profoundly
devoted and interesting housemaid (albeit her few words in Hungarian are appalingly
unintelligble, but only us Hungarians would notice – and we forgive her; it’s a
bitch of a language). This is a joy of a film, a throwback to the great human dramas of
the Hollywood that made Hollywood; where movies for Everyman (even if dealing with not
so-Every-man) were invented."
Andrew L. Urban
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CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 2
Unfavourable: 0
Mixed: 0
GODS AND MONSTERS(M)
(US)
CAST: Ian McKellan, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Jukes.
PRODUCERS: Paul Colichman, Gregg Fienberg and Mark R.Harris
DIRECTOR: Bill Condon
SCRIPT: Christopher Bram and Bill Condon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen M. Katz
EDITOR: Virginia Katz
MUSIC: Carter Burwell
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Richard Sherman III
RUNNING TIME: 101 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Pinefilm
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: June 24, 1999
VIDEO RELEASE: November 8, 1999
VIDEO DISTRIBUTOR: Siren
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