“Who would want me to be part of their life?” says
Charlie, a morbidly obese English teacher played by Brendan Fraser in Darren
Aronofsky’s drama, adapted from a famous play by Samuel D. Hunter. Who indeed?
Charlie comes off as such a surprise to everyone, binge-eating pizzas as if
they were finger foods and normally looking like the worst nightmare of our
society that is crazy about the way they look. Fortunately, people do care in
the end. “The Whale,” despite dividing critics, had been consistent in last
year’s award season. Eddie Harrison said in his review, “It has an
easy-to-grasp selling point; a big star making a comeback in a role which makes
him unrecognisable from the action movie heart-throb he used to be.”
However, “The Whale” isn’t a single-issue movie about
binge eating as a result of grief. Harrison said, “It’s very much a classic
play in the tradition of Tennessee Williams, with Charlie at the centre of a
small universe of intense characters.” Charlie keeps his camera off so that his
online students can’t see what he looks like, but those around him see only
very clearly that what occurred in Charlie’s past is making him head to heart
failure as a form of suicide. The support excels in well-developed roles in
Charlie’s surroundings. Hong Chau plays Liz, Charlie’s nurse, and “Stranger
Things” actress Sadie Sink plays Charlie’s estranged daughter Ellie. The
arrival of Thomas, played by Ty Simpkins, an evangelical who hopes to save
Charlie’s soul, complicates everything, but the bottom line stays. Can Charlie
be saved from himself?
Harrison mentioned, “Let’s just be glad we didn’t get
the mooted version of this property, with James Corden set to star; Fraser has
always been a reliable performer, from 1992’s California/Encino Man onwards,
and although the fat-suit he dons isn’t always convincing, his awkward
movements are convincingly, agonisingly caught. Fraser makes something likeable
about Charlie, even in the throes of his self-destruction, and that should be
more than enough to draw a crowd.” Samantha Morton also has a key role later
on, but we’ll leave the spoilers to cloak that in a little mystery.
Harrison notes, “With obvious allusions to Moby Dick,
The Whale is a little more straightforward in point that some of Aronofsky’s
other, more abstract projects; mother! and The Fountain, we’re looking at you.”
However, “The Whale’s” tough love for Charlie grounds the filmmaker’s ideas in
a great, well-acted film that, if you can handle the serious subject, captures
some unexpectedly funny, warm, and fuzzy moments on the road downhill. “The
Whale” is a well-made, traditional Hollywood stage adaptation, a success for
Aronofsky and something of a win for the previously obsolete Fraser, who rises
to success while poor Charlie is struggling to get in and out of his
wheelchair.
This is one of the most emotional movies that has ever
come out. As a comeback role for Fraser, he really brought the emotions out of
everyone in this role. I highly recommend everyone who has Showtime to watch
this movie because you will really feel the weight of this film. Make sure to
have a box of Kleenex next to you because this gets really heavy and intense.
You will feel the sadness. I didn’t cry, but this was a hard one to get
through. I understand why it was nominated for all those Oscar awards last
year.
Thank you for joining in on my review tonight. Stay tuned next month to see what I will review next.
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