Delayed Reaction: Gods & Monsters

Premise: A fictionalized account of the last days of director James Whale.

 

There's a subgenre of Hollywood movies that I assume started from someone mentioning an innocuous fact about an old Hollywood person and a screenwriter just goes to town on it.

 

Like, I assume Gods and Monsters started from someone telling Bill Condon that the director of Frankenstein was gay and drowned in his pool. Perhaps Condon was at a friend's house who owned the pool or something. That was all Bill needed to flesh out an entire movie. I doubt it went exactly like that, but I don't imagine I'm too far off. Stuff like Hollywoodland or Ed Wood have a similar feel. It makes sense that they are often well-received by Oscar folks. One thing that's been true about every generation of Academy voter is that they love movies about movies.

 

Gods & Monsters should not be watched as a straight biopic. Some elements are true. Director James Whale was closeted, did die in his pool by likely suicide, and did draw many portraits of people in his later years. The rest seems to be fabricated but to good effect. Ian McKellen is great in the movie. It's weird to think that this, at age 59, was only the beginning of the biggest phase of his career, in terms of international fame. He went right from this to X-Men, Lord of the Rings, and being a true international icon. I'm probably under crediting his fame before 2000, but he undeniably rose a level in prominence by a significant amount.

 

I mostly think about Brendan Fraser's sillier or funnier work and forget that he occasionally dabbled in serious film before largely disappearing in the 2000s. It's a little surprising that he never got so much as a Golden Globe nomination as he was dominating the 90s.

 

Also, what's the normal way to see it was refreshing to see a movie with some penis in it? I really don't see a lot of male nudity in movies that isn't used for comedic effect. I certainly prefer female nudity if there's going to be nudity in a movie, but any move toward equity is fair.

 

I'll admit, I found this movie a little dull. It's more of a star showcase than a full movie, so the story is a little thin. McKellen staring into space is nearly enough to keep the movie going anyway, but I wish there was just a little more to grab hold to in the movie.

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend