Gods and Monsters (1998) or, Whale

3/13/2021

Gods and Monsters (1998) or, Whale

♥♥♥♥♥

Ian McKellen's face in a close-up before a strip of film on this regrettably fold-marked poster for Bill Condon's Gods and Monsters

Great American filmmaker Jimmy Whale's new gardener catches his interest in 1957, when the aging master is troubled by the effects of a heart attack. While he draws, he recalls episodes and highlights from his exciting life.

Gods and Monsters is written and directed by great New-Yorker filmmaker Bill Condon (Sister, Sister (1987)), adapting Christopher Bram's (Hold Tight (1988)) Father of Frankenstein (1995), a semi-fictional account of the life of filmmaker James Whale (Frankenstein (1931)).

Condon succeeds in getting a vivid film from this setup about Whale, which could have easily become a too passive, backwards-oriented item. This is avoided with a solid base in Ian McKellen's (Stardust (2007)) brilliant performance as Whale, with competent support from Lynn Redgrave (Shine (1996)) and Brendan Fraser (Blast from the Past (1999)), who are delightful here in each their own way.

Gods and Monsters serves a sentimental story filled with tenderness and a defense against the very sentimentality from the collapsing master's own sense of personal record. The score by Carter Burwell (Carol (2015)) is terrific, and the film is mighty entertaining. A minor reservation is that it in fleeting moments is too film and studio-like, SPOILER including in the last shot of Fraser, in which he acts as a monster in the rain.

Bill Condon: The Greatest Showman (2017) - Brace for an infectious musical show (co-writer)

Dreamgirls (2006) - Rousing star turns in unreal and sentimental musical

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 10 mil. $

Box office: 6.4 mil. $ - North America alone

= Uncertain - but likely a big flop

[Gods and Monsters premiered 21 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 105 minutes. Shooting took place in 24 days from June - July 1997 in California. The film opened #19 to a 75k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked at #17 and in 149 theaters (different weeks), grossing 6.4 mil. $. Regrettably the international gross numbers are not released online. If we assume a likely 13 mil. $ total gross, the film would count as a big flop. It was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay. It lost Best Actor (McKellen) to Roberto Benigni in Life Is Beautiful and in Supporting Actress (Redgrave) to Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love. It also won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for a BAFTA, 3/4 Independent Spirit awards, 3 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Condon returned with The Others (2000, TV-series) and theatrically with Kinsey (2004). McKellen returned in Apt Pupil (1998); Fraser in The Simpsons (1998, TV-series) and theatrically in The Mummy (1999); and Redgrave in White Lies (1998, TV movie) and theatrically in Strike! (1998). Gods and Monsters is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.50/10 critical average.]

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

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3/13/2021

Gods and Monsters (1998) or, Whale

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