Please note: the film opens with a difficult scene that also includes explicit sexual content. The low moment described in it is also intended to characterize his unhappy character possessed by the binge, but it may make the film unsuitable for some viewers.
At the premiere of “The Whale” at the Venice Film Festival, the audience was on its feet in applause for six whole minutes. It was clear that they were mainly addressed to Brendan Fraser, the main actor, who returns to the screen in this film after being absent from it for a long time.
At the height of his career, Fraser played the handsome star in a distinguished collection of films, and he makes his comeback in the role of a lonely man suffering from morbid obesity. It was evident that the reaction to his return, and in a role that was very far from the types he used to play, moved him very much;
And if her response won the Venice Film Festival was not enough, “The Whale” has already managed to pick up several awards and Fraser himself is nominated for an Oscar for his performance. It is gratifying to see that Fraser is – rightly – embraced by the audience and the critics, and the film’s success can certainly be attributed mainly to him.
The plot of the movie – the whale
The film directed by Darren Aronofsky is based on a play by Samuel D. Hunter, who also adapted the script for the screen. It revolves around Charlie, a lecturer in an online writing course, who suffers from obesity that makes it difficult for him to stand on his own and even threatens his life.
Lonely Charlie seeks to renew the relationship with his teenage daughter, whom he abandoned and her mother when she was still a child, in favor of a life together with a student he fell in love with. His daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink), treats him badly – but he continues to encourage her to meet him.
The film takes place entirely in the apartment of Charlie, who has difficulty moving, and is helped to this end by the support of his girlfriend and the nurse who takes care of him – Liz (Hong Chao). The drama is joined by a young missionary named Thomas (Tay Simpkins), who emerges from time to time out of a desire to save the soul of Charlie, who has been immersed in a destructive eating binge since his lover died.
(Photo: Courtesy of Lev Cinemas)
Fraser gives a hard-to-watch, but larger-than-life performance
The story at the center of “The Whale” is apparently intimate and small, but the film adapts itself to the dimensions of the main character, and uses all the means at its disposal to increase the volume of the drama at its center.
Particularly notable are Charlie’s terrifying eating fits, which are described as an apocalyptic whirlwind whose end is known in advance, and are joined by the dramatic climaxes that border on shouting. To be honest, the intensity with which the film drives when it comes to eating is extremely effective: it evokes a real physical sensation of chubs, so that I abandoned my popcorn quite early on.
Even Frasier’s dramatic moments, despite their intensity, maintain credibility and catch the eye. The result is a character who overflows, who has difficulty regulating her emotions and instincts, and who sins with dangerous excess. Fraser gives a performance that is sometimes difficult to watch, but larger than life.
This is the opportunity to also warn and write that the film opens with a difficult scene that also includes explicit sexual content. The low moment described in it is also intended to characterize his unhappy character possessed by the binge, but it may make the film unsuitable for some viewers.