#Everwild vs gods and monters movie#

It's the film's central performance by a legendary thespian playing an equally legendary director, however, that will earn the film its kudos.

#Everwild vs gods and monters movie#

If that story sounds intriguing enough to be made into a movie of its own, you're in luck, because it now has.Ī speculative account of Whale's degenerative last year following a debilitating stroke, 'Gods and Monsters' is a slow moving, but nearly always captivating guess about what landed the once powerful cinematic force into the swimming pool he himself never used.įeaturing a stellar performance from Ian McKellen, and very good supporting takes by both Brendan Fraser and Lynn Redgrave, the film obviously won't be for all tastes, but it's clearly a well-executed, character-driven drama.Īlthough there's not much to the plot - Whale recounts his memories of his WWI lover as well as the making of his movies to his new gardener - what's there is constructed well enough to easily hold one's interest.

He subsequently took up art, reportedly had a fondness for wild, gay parties and later became something of a recluse.įound dead in his swimming pool some sixteen years after his last picture was released, the cause of his death - accident or suicide - remained a mystery for some thirty years. Despite his brief meteoric career in the 1930's where he rose to become one of the more prominent directors in Hollywood, however, in little more than a decade from his first release, and mainly due to creative differences with Universal Studios, Whale forever removed himself from moviemaking. OUR TAKE: 7 out of 10 Best known for his 'Frankenstein' movies, legendary British director James Whale was the Steven Spielberg of his day. LYNN REDGRAVE plays Whale's fastidious and overprotective housekeeper who will do anything for Whale, but abhors his sexual orientation.A drinker and smoker, Boone is initially put off by the stories and thought of Whale being gay, but soon befriends the man. BRENDAN FRASER plays the young and robust gardener hired to work on Whale's home.IAN McKELLEN plays the formerly famous director, a self-admitted homosexual with a penchant for younger men, who's recent stroke has left him with odd mental lapses and sentimental memories.WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: Not Rated Although the film is not rated, it's the equivalent of a R-rated movie, and would get that rating for sexually related material, nudity, and profanity. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Despite the interesting title, unless they're fans of Fraser ('George of the Jungle'), or of old-time horror films, it's not very likely. It's also not helped by Whale's sudden and recurring mental lapses where he imagines and relives moments from his past, including a tragic affair with a fellow soldier during WWI, and his directing of the movie, 'Bride of Frankenstein.'Īs Whale begins to realize his stroke-induced condition will only continue to worse, he slowly begins to manipulate Boone in hopes that the young man may be able to help him in rather unexpected ways. That arrangement, however, nearly falls apart once the gardener learns of the old man's sexual orientation. Learning of his employer's famous past, the lower middle class Boone is happy to tell his friends, including sometime girlfriend, Betty (LOLITA DAVIDOVICH), about Whale, but they all laugh at the director's now seemingly antiquated films.Įven so, Boone and Whale soon strike up an odd, platonic relationship, with Boone agreeing to pose for Whale's portrait sessions. Having recently suffered a mildly debilitating stroke, Whale often experiences bad headaches, phantom odors, and must take medication to prevent hundreds of thoughts from simultaneously racing through his mind.Ī known homosexual with a penchant for younger men, Whale's attention has recently been fixed on Clayton Boone (BRENDAN FRASER), a young and robust gardener recently hired to tend to Whale's home. PLOT: Decades after being at the top of his profession, former movie director James Whale (IAN McKELLEN) now lives in relative seclusion with his overly protective and longtime housekeeper, Hanna (LYNN REDGRAVE) in Hollywood, 1957. QUICK TAKE: Drama: A once famous, and outwardly gay movie director hires a robust gardener and the two enter into an often awkward, but platonic relationship in this speculative account of the last days in the life of legendary director James Whale. (1998) (Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser) (Not Rated)