Dioses y monstruos

Gods and Monsters is in my opinion one of the cinema treats of the year if not one of the best of this decade. Disappointed by a visit to the Mod Squad, I visited ‘Gods' to cleanse my palate. It was enchanting from it's sensitive commencement to an emotional conclusion. It boasts a resonant story which holds it's audience entranced. The script adaptation left no scene lacking significance. Characters are proficiently crafted. Equally substantial, Bill Condon's perceptive Direction was facile and lucid. A mixture of colour and black and white imagery was deftly handled as was the juxtaposition of time person and place in the remembered and imagined sequences. Ian McKellen was the consummate performer as fading Hollywood screen Director James Whale enfeebled by a succession of strokes. The film is further enhanced by a splendid Award winning portrayal of the loyal house maid Hannah by Lyn Redgrave. I was stunned by 'The Mummy's' and 'Blast from the Past's' Brendan Fraser as the hapless and perplexed yardman Clayton Boone who is befriended by James Whale. Who would have thought that such a sensitive and in touch performance could come from the Encino Man. Both McKellen and Fraser team up in some empowering closing scenes. Here one character sees mirrored in the other character's disposition his own fears and emotions. Every facet of Gods and Monsters is admirable. Miss this and you have neglected a very special motion picture.

Sometimes, great quality films don't take too much money to make and don't require a lot of star power. Here, we have Sir Ian McKellen CH KBE CBE in an Oscar nominated performance as the late great horror director, James Whale, who was also gay, artistic, and a genius. The film is based on a fictional novel about his life towards the end. In this film, James Whale is elderly and frail who encounters a handsome gardener, Clayton Boone (played wonderfully by Brendan Fraser in his best performance to date or since). Ian McKellen masters the role of the late director. They form an unlikely friendship. Clayton is oblivious to Whale's homosexuality or his film history at first. They become unlikely friends during their conversations. Whale knows his time is running out. The title comes from a line in his famous film, "Frankenstein." I don't care much for James Whale as a person. He seems too self-involved and cruel to his interviewer. The film also carries a Golden Globe winning performance from the late Lynn Redgrave OBE as his Hungarian Catholic housekeeper, Hanna. She is unforgettable in this role and her loses herself in developing her to be believable. Hanna is still devoted to Whale despite his sexual orientation. Still, the film is a character study. I loved the moment where Whale is reunited with Elsa Lancaster and Boris Karloff who was the Bride and Frankenstein at the Garden Party.

Ian McKellen is superb as James Whale, the man behind the celluloid Frankenstein. Departing from that point, everything works. We're taken by the hand of this elderly celebrity in a world - and a town -that worships celebrity. The town also worships youth and box office grosses. For Whale, youth and box office grosses are way back in his distant pass. That's why, I imagine, the arrival of the gardener with Brendan Fraser's body, awakens in the old man some kind of spark. Their relationship is filled with a sort of emotional suspense that makes the entire movie, riveting. The story is told with a sort of personal melancholy that Bill Condon, the young writer/director, seems to understand fully. Compassion is in his eye and in his soul. The scene in which Ian McKellen remembers his swimming pool crowded with naked young men is one of the most beautifully reminders of how the aging heart remains alive within his memories. Very moving, very sad and very, very good.

Any film that has won over 30 awards must be respected. It is indeed a very good film, although the story line is deep and psychologically heavy so it is not everyone's cup of tea (or "everyone's tea cup" as the foreign maid played by Lynn Redgrave said in the film). Due credit must be given for a credible script and the story itself, based on truth although fictionalized as per the gardener's relationship with director Whale.

Brendan Fraser proves himself to be an excellent actor. We will no doubt see a lot more of him in leading roles.

Unbelievable that best-actor-Oscar-winner Ian McKellen was only 59 years old. He must be a smoker!

If you are a serious film buff, see it. It has lots of depth.

Gods and Monsters

This human drama by talented director Bill Condon is an emotional masterpiece! Based from Christopher Bram's novel, Gods and Monsters depicts the last days of famed director James Whales and his flourishing relationship with his gardener Clayton Boone. Ian McKellen plays the ill-fated director haunted by painful memories of the past while Brendan Fraser, in a very serious role, is the man from which Whales finds peace.

Director Bill Condon is especially remarkable with his use of flashbacks to delineate James Whales' haunting past and imageries from the late director's own creations. He makes his audiences feel the growing bond between Whales and Boone, and effectively touches his audiences during the director's tragic end. Though this episode is a predictable story, it makes us explore within ourselves the Gods and Monsters of our lives.

I'm surprised that the Academy ignored Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser for their extremely fine performances. Ian McKellen gives an outstanding performance as the late director while Brendan Fraser fully shines in the film's climax. Lynn Redgrave is also commendable for her light performance as Hanna, the maid.

This is superbly recommended for anyone looking for a film loaded with emotions