The Whale review: A painfully affecting watch thanks to Brendan Fraser-Larushka Ivan-Zadeh-Entertainment – Metro

Brendan Fraser in The Whale – Oscar bait (Picture: A24)

Comeback kid Brendan Fraser already has the 2023 best actor Oscar in the bag, judging by his rapturous reception at last night’s London Film Festival.

Cheers and barn-storming applause greeted the former George In The Jungle Star as he walked, slightly awkwardly, onto the stage at Royal Festival Hall.

‘And you haven’t even seen the film yet!’ pointed out LFF’s director Tricia Tuttle.

So, what’s all the fuss about?

The Whale is about a morbidly obese man, called Charlie (Fraser), eating himself to death.

‘Did we mention it’s a comedy?’ joked director Darren Aronofsky, introducing his film. And it is – if more of a tragicomedy.

Charlie is a shut-in. He can barely shuffle around his apartment, which he – and the film – never leave. Into this airless, twilight world bursts the occasional secondary character intruders. There’s Liz (Hong Chau), his unofficial nurse/friend, there’s a naïve young missionary (Ty Simpkins), from the New Life church, and there’s his estranged teenage daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink), who Charlie hasn’t seen since she was eight, but is now desperate to connect with, before he ends his life.

What brought Charlie to this state? Can he achieve redemption?

A broken, lonely man, with a fatal heart condition, determined to self-destruct; an estranged daughter he previously abandoned; not to mention a transformational, Oscar-tipped performance by a fallen Hollywood A-lister, whose career hit the skids – this is all very familiar territory to anyone who saw Aronofsky’s 2008 masterpiece, The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke.

But if The Whale doesn’t reach The Wrestler’s heart-wrenching greatness, it’s still an indelible, painfully affecting watch – mainly thanks to Fraser.

Sadie Sink and Fraser star as an estranged daughter and father (Picture: EPA)

Yes, the ‘fat suit’ is incredible. An unbelievably convincing mix of latex and CGI prosthetics, it was designed by a sure-to-be-award-winning Adrien Morot. But despite the dubious, gawp-at-the-fat-person, moments as Charlie shoves disgusting, greasy bucketfuls of fried chicken into himself (this is not a movie you’ll want to pop out for a meal after), it’s not the fatness you see when you look at Charlie. It’s the intelligence and vulnerability.

That Brendan Fraser faced his own weight gain body issues after the actor came forward with allegations he was sexually assaulted in 2003 that derailed his career and personal life undoubtedly feeds into both his performance and our reaction to it. If there’s a positive – and Charlie is all about finding positives – the horrific experience has arguably made him an even greater actor. You’ll be haunted by Fraser’s gentleness and those big, blue, watery eyes.

The film itself is not as successful.

Adapted by MacArthur Fellowship holder Samuel L. Hunter from his own 2012 play, it feels stagey and the lines often declamatory.

Chau and a late entry Samantha Morton, as Ellie’s alcoholic mum, are reliably brilliant and well-calibrated, whereas Sadie Sink dials it up to 11 in an audition-room performance and the missionary is just too contrived.

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As well as occasionally funny, it’s an intense and uncomfortable watch. You’ll be manipulated into tears, yet Fraser brings a dignity to the role.

As he was swept, tearily back to the stage last night on the wave of a five-minute standing ovation, The Brendanaissance seems assured.

The Whale is scheduled for release in the US December 9.

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