Gods and
Monsters
DOWN &
DIRTY:
Drama: A once famous and
outwardly gay movie director and
his young gardener enter into an
awkward, but platonic
relationship in this fictional
account of the last days in the
life of legendary Frankenstein
director James Whale.
NITTY GRITTY:
Decades after being at the top of
his profession, former movie
director James Whale (IAN
McKELLEN) now lives in seclusion
with his overly protective and
longtime housekeeper, Hanna (LYNN
REDGRAVE) in Hollywood, 1957.
Whale has suffered a mildly
debilitating stroke and often
experiences headaches, phantom
odors, and must take medication
to prevent hundreds of thoughts
from simultaneously racing
through his mind.
A known homosexual with a
penchant for younger men, Whale's
attention has been on Clayton
Boone (BRENDAN FRASER), a young
gardener hired to tend to Whale's
home. Learning of his employer's
famous past, Boone is happy to
tell his friends, including
sometime girlfriend, Betty
(LOLITA DAVIDOVICH), about Whale,
but they all laugh at the now
seemingly antiquated films.
Even so, Boone and Whale soon
strike up an odd, platonic
relationship, with Boone agreeing
to pose for portrait sessions.
That arrangement nearly falls
apart when Boone learns of the
old man's sexual orientation.
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."
THE ENDING:
Whale begins to realize his
stroke-induced condition will
only continue to worsen. He asks
Boone to kill him, but Boone
refuses.
Hanna fixes breakfast for Whale
but cannot find him. She and
Boone search the large house.
Boone finds him floating in the
pool and dives in and pulls him
out.
Whale has drowned himself. Hanna
tells Boone to leave before the
police arrive to avoid the
publicity.
WHAT EVERYONE WILL BE
TALKING ABOUT:
You'll never watch the
classic horror movie Frankenstein
the same way again.
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