Gods and Monsters offers a potentially interesting look into the life of Hollywood director James Whale but instead sacrifices it for a melodrama, that relies too much on fiction than its real-life counterpart. The big problem the movie suffers from is that it puts too much emphasis on a fictional friendship between Whale (Ian McKellen) and his gardener Clayton (Brendan Fraser). Despite director Bill Condon trying to make this the warm centre of the film, I felt somewhat cold as a result. Whilst Fraser is fine in the part, Condon mistakenly mixes fact and fiction, meaning that we don't care much for his character at all. It's hard to get invested in his character, especially compared to the far more interesting Whale. I get that Fraser is meant to be the audience, discovering the more complicated life that Whale lived rather than just being a flamboyant individual, but it didn't emotionally engage me like it should've.
The movie's saving grace is Ian McKellen who is constantly engaging throughout the film. He makes Whale more sympathetic and complex than the ever tries to. The film could've worked better if it had perhaps a more traditional structure, focusing on Whale's childhood, his experience in war and Hollywood before his final days.
This isn't a bad film but perhaps needed another rewrite to make it more emotionally interesting. McKellen is fantastic but sadly, the film he's in doesn't offer the same engaging depth that he provides.
Review of Gods and Monsters
Gods and Monsters
(1998)
An average biopic saved by a brilliant performance from Ian McKellen
22 January 2019