Gods and Monsters (1998)

Director:

Bill Condon

Writers (WGA):

Christopher Bram (novel)
Bill Condon (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The last days of Frankenstein director James Whale are explored.

Plot Keywords:

Frankenstein | Director | Gardener | Homosexual | Stroke

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 32 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Ian McKellen	...	James Whale
Brendan Fraser	...	Clayton Boone
Lynn Redgrave	...	Hanna
Lolita Davidovich	...	Betty
David Dukes	...	David Lewis
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Harry
Mark Kiely	...	Dwight
Jack Plotnick	...	Edmund Kay
Rosalind Ayres	...	Elsa Lanchester
Jack Betts	...	Boris Karloff
Matt McKenzie	...	Colin Clive
Todd Babcock	...	Leonard Barnett
Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy	...	Princess Margaret
Brandon Kleyla	...	Young Whale
Pamela Salem	...	Sarah Whale

Also Known As:

The Father of Frankenstein (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual material and language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:R(A) | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Germany:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | South Korea:18 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Arbor Mansion, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

As of 2007, one of only three films since the advent of the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar to win the award without receiving a Best Picture nomination as well. The first was The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), the second was Sling Blade (1996).

Goofs:

Continuity: Before starting his line about James wanting "to draw him like a statue" Clayton tosses away his towel. James turns from the window and Clayton punctuates the end of his line by tossing his towel away again.

Quotes:

Clayton Boone: No, I don't have a girlfriend.
James Whale: Why not?
Clayton Boone: You have to kiss some ass to get a piece of it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sweets to the Sweet: The Candyman Mythos (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bride of Frankenstein

A reflection of Frankenstein

A historical drama about famed director James Whale (Ian McKellen), Gods and Monsters finds Whale primarily in his last years, living relatively modestly in 1950s Hollywood. A heavy emphasis is placed on his homosexuality and his complex relationship with his young male gardener, Clayton Boone (Brendan Fraser).

Gods and Monsters is an unusual film in that although it's not very plot heavy, there is little feeling of a lack of substance. It's really a personality study, but a very deep, multifaceted look at Whale, Boone and to a lesser extent, Whale's domestic helper, Hanna (Lynn Redgrave). As such, the film largely hinges on its performances, which couldn't be better.

Fraser is perhaps the most impressive, as the tenor of his role is very different than most of the material he's tackled over the years. He never fails to sell his nuanced character, who is something of a lower-class enigma with a clearly troubled past and a desire for a simpler future, but who hardly knows how to express or achieve what he desires. The description is almost a perfect reflection of Whale, as well, as we come to realize. Of course McKellen and Redgrave are good, too, but their roles are more along the lines of some of their past fine work.

Echoing the parallel between Boone and Whale's histories and dispositions, Whale's life is shown as being deeply mired in the themes of his two Frankenstein films, even though he is shown as publicly wanting to play them down. Whale is something of a cross between Colin Clive's Dr. Frankenstein, Ernest Thesiger's campy Dr. Pretorius and Boris Karloff's sympathetic monster, enjoying the role of creator as much as the simple pleasures of food and a smoke, and ultimately desiring friendship rather than forlorn loneliness in his twilight years. Whale's loss of his creation on The Road Back (1937), from which he temporarily recovered his composure, and the perceived "monstrosity" of his sexual orientation and eccentricities began a slow process of alienation from the milieu he loved at one time. Like the Monster seeking emotional recompense, especially in the face of imminent destruction in the wake of a stroke, Whale attempts to latch on to whatever intimacy he can find from others, and ultimately expresses an embrace of death over living.

Although the historicity of the film may be questionable on some accounts, it's important to remember that the film, although a historical drama, is still fiction, and many changes are by way of normal "literary license", designed to underscore more abstract points about Whale's life and character.

Director Bill Condon nicely inserts select scenes from Whale's past, including his experience in World War I, which informed his films such as Journey's End (1930), and a wonderful recreation of Whale filming a scene from Bride of Frankenstein (1935). We also see an almost amusingly truncated version of the latter and some typical peanut gallery remarks showing how Whale's work was apt to be misunderstood. Carter Burwell's beautiful, understated music is also worth noting. My only small complaint about the film is that I would have like the music to appear more frequently than it did.