Everyone loves a good comeback story, and that is especially true when we are talking about Brendan Fraser’s. The actor’s unexpected return has been all over the internet for a while now, but with The Whale premiering in most European countries in February, we finally get to see what all this fuss has been about.
Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” revolves around Charlie, the reclusive, dangerously obese English teacher (Brendan Fraser). Charlie has lost someone close to him in the past, resulting in his massive weight gain and alienation from society. Holding his classes from home, he needs constant supervision and care, provided by his best friend and nurse, Liz (Hong Chau). As Charlie’s condition is getting worse, so much that he might not make it to next week, he tries to spend as much time as he can with his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink), who he has abandoned 8 years ago in the search of his newfound love and sexuality.
Aronofsky has always been known for his deep and dark dramas, but the director seems to have really hit the spot with “The Whale”, as he not only managed to revive Brendan Fraser’s semi-forgotten career with it, but also earned 3 Oscar nominations, next to the many awards the movie won already since last year. Oh, and he also directed one of the best pictures of the decade.
“The Whale”, presented in a tight 4:3 aspect ratio, encapsulates the viewer in an almost 2 hours long journey into loss, love and religion, packed into beautiful literary themes and sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes utterly grotesque situations. Its characters and story both have, creating a sense of perfectly balanced duality that everyone experiences in life at some capacity. We barely leave Charlie’s porch in the film, making us feel this entrapment that Fraser’s obese character lives through every day. Over a week, we meet the most important characters of Charlie’s life, each time experiencing an interaction different in tone and meaning, constantly putting their relations to Charlie and each other in new perspectives.
Since the film was adapted from a screenplay, there are some noticeable pacing issues in the first half of the movie, but watching the actors perform quickly captures our attention. Leaving his macho adventure flick characters behind, Brendan Fraser gives a performance of a lifetime, exploring an unbelievable range of emotions, making sure there are no dry eyes in the house by the end of the film. The four key characters Charlie interacts with have also been delivered exceptionally well by the rest of the cast.
The carefully crafted atmosphere of The Whale can be uncomfortably disgusting and downright beautiful at times, aided by wonderful cinematography, detailed set design, and of course, Rob Simonsen’s incredible score. Surprisingly, humor is not missing of this dark mixture of cinema either, but some might find it hard to laugh while experiencing this vast array of feelings at the same time.
“The Whale” is a textbook answer to the question of why we are still going to the movies. To experience joy, horror and devastating emptiness at the same time, crying our eyes out, and still coming out with a smile on our face from the screening, like the devastating story of an obese teacher was the best thing ever. Maybe The Whale won’t be that for some people, but it is certainly one of the best films of the past few years, and definitely an Oscar win for Brendan Fraser.
“The Whale”; Director: Darren Aronofsky;
Actors: Brendan Fraser, Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins;
American Drama, 117 minutes, 2022
