This week's Midweek Mention takes us somewhere unexpectedly moving — Bill Condon's Gods and Monsters (1998), a fictionalized account of the final days of James Whale, the British director who gave the world Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. 

Sir Ian McKellen is extraordinary as the ageing, ailing Whale — a man whose health is failing, whose memories are fragmenting, and who has grown too tired to pretend he cares about social niceties. Into his life stumbles Clayton Boone (Brendan Fraser, in peak movie-star form), a gardener and former marine who becomes an unlikely companion in Whale's last chapter. 

What unfolds is a quiet, beautifully lit character study about aging, depression, homosexuality in 1950s Hollywood, and what happens when two very different men decide to be honest with each other. Lynn Redgrave as Hannah the disapproving housekeeper practically steals every scene she's in. 

There's strip journalism, a gas mask, a Hollywood party with Princess Margaret, and a swimming pool. Whale directed horror. He understood that tragedy works best when it makes you laugh first. 

Budget: $10M | Box office: ~$6.5M | BBC Films co-production | Premiered at Sundance Verdict: 

Strong recommend from Sidey and Cris. Dan missed it but is already planning to watch it.

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