The hype is real. You go see ‘The Whale’ for one reason only. Brendan Fraser delivers a brilliant performance in the lead role. It’s a well deserved comeback. He finally gets to literally sink his teeth into the role of a lifetime. Director Darren Aronofsky’s films can be challenging to watch. This one is no exception. He makes his characters go to some painful and dark places. ‘The Whale’ is adapted from a play written by Samuel D. Hunter who was born and raised in Moscow, Idaho. He also wrote the screenplay. It feels like a play. What makes it work is Fraser’s gut wrenching transformation. Just hand him the Best Actor Oscar already. He earned it!
‘The Whale’ takes place in Idaho. Charlie (Fraser) is an English professor. He teaches his students online. He keeps his camera off when he conducts his classes. You see, he has developed an eating disorder out of his grief. He is so morbidly obese that it has become a serious health issue. His nurse Liz (Hong Chau) visits him daily to take his vitals and bring him groceries. She tells him that he needs to go to the hospital. He has developed congestive heart disease. If left untreated, he will eventually die. He insists that he cannot afford the hospital bills. His weight of 600 pounds has left him incapacitated. Fraser wore a 300-pound prosthetic suit for the role.
If it were just an actor donning a fat suit, it would not be genuine. Fraser actually looks like he is suffering from being dangerously overweight. He brings a lot of empathy to the role. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that his character Charlie is a nice guy. He has made mistakes in his life. Who hasn’t? He left his wife (Samantha Morton) and his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) for one of his students. His partner died and now he is eating himself to death. He gets an unexpected visit from Ellie. This gives him a chance at redemption. He wants to reconnect with her. Charlie feels like he’s messed up his whole life but maybe in his final days he can do something to make amends with her.
The film is shot in Charlie’s apartment. Besides getting visits from Liz, he gets a visit from an evangelist (Ty Simpkins). He thinks he can save Charlie. That’s the interesting aspect of the story. The evangelist thinks he can save Charlie. Liz also thinks she can save Charlie. On the other hand, Charlie thinks he can save his daughter Ellie. And that’s the biggest message of ‘The Whale.’ Nobody can really save anybody. Maybe all they can do is show love to one another and hope that person makes the right choices in life. Sadie Sink is best known as Max on ‘Stranger Things.’ She shows tremendous promise in this breakout performance as his estranged daughter. Hong Chau also delivers a powerful performance as Charlie’s nurse and only friend.
I cannot say enough about Brendan Fraser’s performance. It is so moving. It’s exceptional because you don’t want to throw pity at his character. There is something riveting about watching this broken man. He is a complex and flawed character but you have empathy for him. It is the best character study of the year. It is the best performance of the year. Fraser makes us look beyond the horrifying appearance of the character to see the compassion in his heart. Bravo, Brendan Fraser for giving us such a brilliant performance!
