Is gelatin for clarity only?

[wyobrew]

My beers normally take about 6 weeks in the keg before they're really good. I've never used gelatin and wonder if it would speed up the process. Is it only used to clear the beer visually or does it also help clean up the flavor quicker? Do you use it in stout?

 

[LandoLincoln]

The gelatin attaches to floating proteins and polyphenols in the beer and makes them heavier and thus settles down into the bottom faster.

Do proteins and polyphenols affect flavor in a negative way? Yeah, I guess they could.