Gods and Monsters

Composite Score: 82.87

Starring: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes, Kevin J. O’Connor, Jack Plotnick, and Brandon Kleyla

Director: Bill Condon

Writer: Bill Condon

Genres: Biography, Drama

MPAA Rating: R for sexual material and language

Box Office: $6.45 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Gods and Monsters is a film based on Christopher Bram’s novel Father of Frankenstein, dramatizing and fictionalizing the end of the life of film director James Whale, who directed such films as Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933), and Show Boat (1936) before his death in 1957. The film focuses its story on the relationship between Whale (Ian McKellen) and his yard worker Clayton Boone (Brendan Fraser), examining the impact of Whale’s personal background as a World War I veteran and open homosexual on his filmmaking and relationships with others. As a semi-fictional biopic about a prolific director, it’s not half-bad, featuring some of McKellen’s and Fraser’s best on-screen work and paying homage to the career of James Whale in the process.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                In order to fully enjoy the depth of Gods and Monsters, the audience needs a decent knowledge of early Hollywood figures, James Whale’s films, and Whale himself. Devoid of context, the film could easily fall to the wayside as a well-acted but simplistic gay biopic with odd references here and there to Whale’s films and a few name drops sprinkled across it all. Even knowing about Whale’s film career, I knew very little about his personal life going in, so around the fifteen-minute mark, I paused the film and took a second to read up on Whale’s Wikipedia page, catching myself up and giving me a much-improved context for the truth and fiction of the film. By the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but I don’t know that I would have found it as good if I had not read about his life.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                The homage paid to Whale’s work in this semi-biographical work is admirable and added a lot to the film’s overall watchability. From memories of working on The Bride of Frankenstein to nightmares about being Frankenstein’s monster to a dream sequence copying shots from Frankenstein to the final shot of Boone walking down the street like Boris Karloff’s monster, the film is full of references to Whale’s work that recall to the audience’s mind the reach and impact of the director’s work. It highlights the ways that he was able to bring some of his own personality to bear in the making of each of his films and showcases the lasting legacy left by Whale in the industry and culture as a whole. Though the film is set in the 1950s, it was made in the 1990s, and in a watch in the 2020s, it still conjured up images of the later works inspired by Whale’s films throughout.

                As I already mentioned, Fraser and McKellen both put on strong performances in Gods and Monsters as well. Fraser’s performance as Clayton betrays the talent that was hiding behind his ‘90s action persona for so long, as he delivers something that is heartfelt, emotional at times, and convincingly human for its entirety. His physicality works well in the role as well, thanks in part to the hair and makeup department, looking enough like Frankenstein’s monster and an attractive young man at the same time to warrant attention from an aging James Whale. McKellen’s portrayal of Whale’s deteriorating mental state and his sincerity in every interaction combine to create a character that is equal parts lovable, sympathetic, frustrating, and worrisome. His Oscar-nominated performance drives the film to its destination, showcasing his own talent and charisma along the way.

                With a combination of quality lead acting and sufficient callbacks to its subject’s directorial work, Gods and Monsters shines as a great biopic and one of the Greatest Films of All Time. The film’s reliance upon the audience’s prior knowledge will hold it lower on some people’s lists, but for those in the know, this film is a highly rewarding watch. It is currently available to stream with ads on Amazon Prime’s Freevee station if you are interested in checking it out.