So just what makes this movie so good; such a pleasure to watch? Obviously, the acting was superb. I never heard of Ian McKellen before, but his award-winning performance was something to behold: very restrained, very subtle, yet very powerful. Brendan Fraser was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed his natural, innocent style in "Encino Man" and "Blast from the Past", the only two films I've seen him in, but that sample did not demonstrate much range. In "Gods and Monsters" range was the operative. He demonstrated his easy innocence in the opening scenes. Later on, while posing for his portrait, Brandon does anger. In the end, when Whales goads Boone into nearly strangling him, Brandon does more anger, Brandon does frustration, Brandon does sadness. Didn't know he had it in him. As for Lynn Redgrave, I didn't even know it was her until the end credits. She was great. Fantastic Hungarian accent. These characters were totally believable.
Another reason this was a great film: it didn't follow any typical Hollywood formula. Very unique. No big action sequence. No romance. OK, Whales and Boone have a certain intimacy; an emotional attachment. How many films have no romantic sub-plot? No femme fatale. No suspense. Still, it works. Go figure.
The ending, though, falls flat through implausibility. Boone hits Whale in the face and nearly strangles him to death. The next morning he's found dead in his pool. They push the body back into the water so as not to draw suspicion to Boone. This is where they blew it. Cops, or at least coroners, tend to notice facial bruises and hand prints around corpse's necks. In the real world the suspicion would have fallen right back on Boone. But then again it's only a movie, so what the heck.
Another reason this was a great film: it didn't follow any typical Hollywood formula. Very unique. No big action sequence. No romance. OK, Whales and Boone have a certain intimacy; an emotional attachment. How many films have no romantic sub-plot? No femme fatale. No suspense. Still, it works. Go figure.
The ending, though, falls flat through implausibility. Boone hits Whale in the face and nearly strangles him to death. The next morning he's found dead in his pool. They push the body back into the water so as not to draw suspicion to Boone. This is where they blew it. Cops, or at least coroners, tend to notice facial bruises and hand prints around corpse's necks. In the real world the suspicion would have fallen right back on Boone. But then again it's only a movie, so what the heck.