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Gods and Monsters is a 1998 film directed by Bill Condon, written by Bill Condon and Christopher Bram, and starring Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser. The movie is a fictionalized narrative inspired by the life and death of James Whale, the real-life queer director behind 1931's Frankenstein and 1935's Bride of Frankenstein. It's based on the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram.
The story has fictionalized elements, so if you're interested in the true history of James Whale, you'll have to do some extra research. Still, I enjoyed the movie. It's a story of an elderly gay man living in his own shadow, trying to find someone to connect with while the world moves on without him.
It's not a happy movie, but it fucked me up in a good, haunting sort of way. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a good cry about queer history and our elders, as well as to anyone who's into Frankenstein or queer media history. Clive Barker was the film's executive producer, and there's a great behind-the-scenes documentary on the DVD where he and other crew members talk about queer history, media, and art.
The movie has a gut-punch ending and carries a few big trigger warnings, with the biggest being suicide by drowning, so be sure to check its Does the Dog Die page before watching. This isn't a "feel good" sort of movie, but I've always thought we need space for stories about queer pain, too.
Here's the trailer:
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