MONSTERS IN THE CLOSET: "LOVE & DEATH ON LONG ISLAND" VS "GODS & MONSTERS"

AWARDS & HONOURS: Academy Awards: Actor (Nomination): Ian McKellen, Supporting Actress (Nomination): Lynn Redgrave & Screenplay (Based On Material Previously Produced Or Published) (Nomination): Bill Condon. Broadcast Critics Awards: Picture (Nomination); Gods And Monsters & Actor; Ian McKellen. Golden Globe Awards: Dramatic Picture (Nomination); Gods And Monsters, Actor In Dramatic Picture (Nomination), Ian McKellen & Support Actress (All Categories); Lynn Redgrave. National Board Of Review Awards: Picture & Actor: Ian McKellen. Online Film Critics Society: Best Actor; Ian McKellen. Premiere's Top Ten Movies Of 1998 (9th): Gods And Monsters.

INTRODUCTION: The late '90s has seen a boom in gay cinema, lead by indie god Gus Van Sant, the new queer wave has started to become box office. This move to the mainstream has been pushed by excellent character dramas such as these two films. Both are adapted from recent literary successes, Condon's movie is based on Bram's fictionalised account of the last days of the "Frankenstein" film director James Whale, while Kwietniowski's feature debut is based on a novel by film critic Gilbert Adair, so professional courtesy requires me to pan it.

Whale was a gay Hollywood film director long before it became fashionable, pioneering the way for the likes of Van Sant and the rest of the new queer wave. Originating in Yam-Yam Land (the black country to anyone from outside Birmingham, or Northern England as McKellan describes it for anyone outside the UK), Whale's genius took him from his working class origins to Hollywood. He directed such classics as "Frankenstein", "The Bride of Frankenstein" and perversely "Show Boat" before turning his back on Hollywood and returning to his home in Beverly Hills to paint. There he stayed until his mysterious pool-side death, which Condon's movie attempts to explain.

Kwietniowski tells the familiar story of a man who falls in love with an image on the silver-screen and then pursues them across the Atlantic to their home and attempts to wheedle his way into there life, something I'm sure we've all done in the past, and have the restraining orders to prove it.

SYNOPSIS: In "Love & Death on Long Island" wrinkly London author Giles De'Ath (Hurt) finds himself thrust into the Twentieth Century when locked out of his house one day he takes refuge in a nearby cinema. Wondering into the wrong screen he finds himself confronted by crass American teen comedy "Hot Pants College II" instead of the E. M. Forrester adaptation he expected.

As he is getting up to leave he catches site of the film's star teen idol Ronnie Bostock (Priestly), for whom he immediately falls. When cuttings from teen magazines and trips to see "Hot Pants College III" no longer prove enough to quench his desire he heads off to Long Island in search of the actor.

After engineering an encounter with Bostock's girlfriend Audrey (Loewi), De'Ath is able to wheedle his way into Bostock's life, as the two become closer Audrey get suspicious and De'Ath is forced to reveal his true motivation to his young prot‚g‚.

In "Gods & Monsters" ageing Hollywood maverick James Whale (McKellan) has retired to his Beverly Hills mansion to spend his twighlight years painting with only his German house keeper Hanna (Redgrave) for company.

Moved by the beauty of his gardener Clayton Boone (Fraser) Whale convinces the young ex-marine to pose for him. But Boone soon becomes suspicious of the old mans true motivations. Over coming their initial doubts the two soon become close friends.

Whale uses flashbacks to relate to Boone the story of his life, but this new found friendship is not enough to assuage Whale's depression and as his mind deteriorates he takes desperate action.

REVIEW: Kwietniowski may be making his feature debut but Condon has also done his time in horror sequel purgatory with "Candyman 2", and thus seems more committed to his story. Condon brings and infectious enthusiasm to this, which seems to rub off on cast and crew alike, while Kwietniowski's seems competent but cold in comparison.

Kwietniowski's intense character study displays the full range of it's leading performers, for better or worse. Hurt is as superb as ever in what is one of the strongest roles he has had in a long time, and Loewi provides amusing support as Bostock's bemused girlfriend Audrey. Priestly's attempt to escape his B star persona by portraying an actor attempting to escape their B star persona, never quite comes off and all too often he falls back on 90210 style melodramatics.

By comparison Condon's cast, as is made clear by its long list of awards and honours, is uniformly excellent. McKellen puts in a tour-de-force performance as the ageing movie legend, powerfully conveying the passion of this artist and genius who fears the loss of his mental faculties. McKellen should be a shoe in for the Oscar, he isn't of course but that's Hollywood for you. Strong support comes from Redgrave, who has also garnered an Oscar nomination for her efforts as the comedy German housemaid Hanna, and "George of the Jungle" & "Encino Man" lead Fraser. Who puts in the greatest performance of a somewhat lacklustre career as dumb hunk Clayton Boone, succeeding precisely where Priestly fails, in playing up to his innate abilities.

The story of an elderly homosexual pursuing and acting as mentor to a handsome young heterosexual is a common one in gay literature, Van Sant himself explored the theme recently in his debut novel "Pink". The allusion to the such historic figures as Socrates and Plato is unavoidable, and it must be this yearning for an older era of reason and freedom that motivates these ageing gay intellectuals. Indeed viewed together these two films demonstrates that there is hope, even for a has-been and a never was, naming no names of course, providing a truly moving experience for anyone in the mood to be truly moved. Kwietniowski's drama is perhaps a little light with Bostock and De'Ath not just surviving but thriving from their brief bond, while Condon's downbeat ending with Whale's tragic death and Boone's grief, conveys the lasting scars of such life experience. It is thus Condon's production that is the stronger of the two.

MUTT'S RATING: Love And Death On Long Island: *** Gods And Monsters: ****

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