Review of Gods and Monsters (1998) by Sunil U — 03 Feb 2008

This is a movie with special resonance to people with a sense of movie history. For others, the movie is made worthwhile by the touching portrayal of James Whale, the director of the first two - the most notable - Frankenstein movies. Ian McKellen, who inhibits the screen with effortless grace in any movie, is particularly superb as the gay, aging director living out his last days under the influence of a stroke. Brendan Fraser plays a young yardman who strikes a volatile and uncertain friendship with Whale (His character is a fictional one).

It is ironic (conventionally speaking, that is) that a movie about Hollywood, and gay and hedonistic lifestyles (which are coupled here), sends out a fundamentally conservative and sound message about friendship and love, as exemplified by Frankenstein's monster grunting 'Alone bad, Friend good'.