Review of Gods and Monsters (1998) by Dawdlingpoet — 03 Apr 2022

This is an interesting film about the life of someone I wasn't familiar with beforehand. Ian McKellen undoubtedly gives a stellar performance as Mr. Whale, a retired director who is/was known for being openly gay, although younger men seem unaware of this. Also undoubtedly this film may make for slightly uncomfortable viewing at times, when it's made plainly clear that James (Mr. Whale) is making subtle moves at people - primarily the new gardener, Clayton Boone, played by Brendan Fraser. Its a fairly understated film and its relatively thought provoking, in as much as it may make you wonder about the true meaning behind Mr. Whales fiction work - the symbology/metaphors present and the like. It's a bit sad but mostly a film to ponder over, I suppose, which is something Mr. Whale himself may have said. I suppose, at its essence, its a film about identity. It has somewhat of a poignancy to it.

I don't know how accurate, or not, this film is but its certainly worth seeing for Ian McKellen's performance alone, I reckon, although Brendan Fraser does also play his character quite well too.