Film: The Whale

Hot off his richly deserved Oscar win last weekend at this year’s Academy Awards, it’s official, we are living in the Brendanaissance. Few people deserve this moment like Brendan Fraser, who has been through hell, to get back to main stage of cinema, and particularly audiences of my generation could not be happier to see it.

However, what about the film that got him there? Based on Samuel D. Hunter’s 2012 play of the same name (who also writes this feature adaptation), The Whale is a film that is a rather challenging viewing experience. Aronofsky is no stranger to such things of course (I still cannot gel with Mother or Noah) but his latest is emotionally complex and viscerally confrontational in a way many films about people are not.

Fraser plays Charlie, a housebound morbidly obese English teacher, whose disorder has reached the point that he might be in his final days. In these days, he reaches out to his estranged teenage daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink), in order to mend their relationship and to remind her of why she is so special.

The Whale is a story of depression, self-punishment and honesty, one which dwells in largely unpleasant areas of living, with an eye on those moments that make it worth it. Aronofsky does sometimes make this line between compassion and creating a spectacle from suffering hard to decipher though, as clear by some intendedly harrowing moments, which you often wonder if they need to be there.

There are also some supporting characters whose stories do come to meet an unsatisfying or questionable conclusion, like the open to interoperation New Life Church missionary Thomas (Ty Simpkins) or the largely unseen and initially caring deliveryman Dan (Sathya Sridharan).

Although the fierce and borderline detestable Ellie, is a very surprising and deep character, played superbly by Sink, and Charlie’s friend/carer Liz is by far the best supporting act in this film, and Hong Chau is terrific in the part offering a resilience and charisma the film really benefits from.

Still, The Whale film will be remembered for the man at its centre. Much like its source material, this is a stage-show like (you can tell the film is based on a play from its construction) showcase for its main character and the man behind him. Brendan Fraser deserves every bit of acclaim he has received in this transformative powerful renaissance of a performance.

He makes The Whale breathe because he gives it heart and soul, and for any of its missteps and uncertain moves overall, it is a film experience built on his mighty shoulders, his very real pain (on and off screen) and his immeasurable human depth. The Whale casts a spotlight onto Brendan Fraser, and he in turn delivers a performance that once seen will never be forgotten.

Astonishing work from a man long overdue our respect.

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Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton
Release Date: Out Now (Cinemas)]