Gods and Monsters

Movie
German title	Gods and Monsters
Original title	Gods and Monsters
Country of production	USA , UK
original language	English
Publishing year	1998
length	105 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Bill Condon
script	Bill Condon
production	Paul Colichman , ; Gregg Fienberg , ; Mark R. Harris
music	Carter Burwell
camera	Stephen M. Katz
cut	Virginia Katz
occupation
	Ian McKellen : James Whale ; Brendan Fraser : Clayton Boone; Lynn Redgrave : Hanna; Lolita Davidovich : Betty; David Dukes : David Lewis ; Kevin J. O'Connor : Harry; Mark Kiely : Dwight; Jack Plotnick : Edmund Kay; Rosalind Ayres : Elsa Lanchester ; Jack Betts : Boris Karloff ; Matt McKenzie : Colin Clive ; Martin Ferrero : George Cukor ; Todd Babcock : Leonard Barnett; Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy : Princess Margaret ; Brandon Kleyla : Young Whale; Pamela Salem : Sarah Whale;

Gods and Monsters is a movie from 1998. It deals with the last phase of the life of the director James Whale , who achieved world fame with the films Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Bride . The script is based on the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram . The role of James Whale is played by the British actor Sir Ian McKellen .

action

1957: The British director James Whale, who became famous for his films Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Bride , lives withdrawn from the "fine society". He experiences hostility mainly because he has never made a secret of his homosexuality . Only his housekeeper Hanna is at his side . He mainly spends his time painting. The day a young reporter interviewed James Whale by his swimming pool, Whale's ironic joke emerges. He flirts openly with his counterpart, which makes them even more insecure. During the interview, the director suffers a slight stroke and afterwards becomes more and more aware of the fact that his health is going to deteriorate. His consciousness is still the same, but his thoughts get out of control at times. He then begins to plan and literally stage his demise.

The new gardener Clayton ( Brendan Fraser ), a young and handsome man, caught the attention of Whale. From his point of view as a painter, he sees him primarily as a model, but subliminally also as an object of desire. He comes to the conclusion that he would like to give him a special task when he dies. Over time, an understanding relationship develops between the gardener and the director, which, however, repeatedly confronts Whale's plan of his death with new and unexpected problems.

Reviews

The film received mostly positive reviews, earning a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 52 reviews. And at Metacritic a Metascore of 74, based on 32 reviews.

Flemming Schock writes on filmspiegel.de: "" Gods and Monsters "explores the last days in the life of the" Frankenstein "director in the most subtle way. Bill Condon's multi-faceted homophile drama impressively enigmatically stages an unusual, almost psychoanalytical generation friendship between a macabre performance and trauma from the past. A powerful film. "

Jochen Schütze draws the conclusion in the cinema magazine Cinema : "Great psychological study, not a great cinema."

TV Spielfilm, on the other hand, says: "Clever navel-gazing, great artist portrait."

background

The film deals mainly with the relatively short period of Whale's life shortly before his long-shrouded suicide on May 29, 1957. The film is never about reenacting historical events; the character of the gardener Clayton Boone is fictional and unrelated to a real person from Whale's life.

A total of five original drawings by James Whale were used as decorations in the film. The film was shot in less than a month. Gods and Monsters had its international premiere on January 21, 1998 at the Sundance Film Festival . The cinema release in the USA was in November 1998. In Germany and Switzerland the film was only released in May 2000.

Awards

The film received a number of nominations and awards, most notably the portrayal of Ian McKellen received numerous awards. In addition to an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination, McKellen received, among other things, the Silver Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival .