The Whale

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding Darren Aronofsky‘s latest feature, The Whale, mainly due to Brendon Fraser’s comeback in a leading role, following a hiatus dictated by personal and professional setbacks. Aronofsky continues his trend of resurrecting careers: he famously had Mickey Rourke star in The Wrestler and he also gave Winona Ryder a supporting role in Black Swan after a long absence. Presumably, real-life drama adds an extra layer of pathos, and Fraser’s performance in The Whale is certainly loaded with feeling.

Charlie (Fraser) is an English teacher who works remotely. His students don’t know what he looks like because he keeps his webcam off: he fears how they may react to the fact that he is morbidly obese. Housebound and suffering from congestive heart failure, he sees no one aside from Liz (Hong Chau), the nurse who assists him. A door-to-door evangelist (Ty Simpkins) begins to take an interest in his case, but only in an attempt to help him redeem his soul. When Charlie’s daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) enters the picture, the reason that led to the protagonist’s lamentable situation is gradually revealed.

Based on the 2012 play by Samuel D Hunter, and adapted by the playwright himself, the film retains all of its theatricality. From the single-room setting to the highly emotional exchanges, The Whale still feels very much like a stage production. This means that it is as heart-wrenching as it is overdone. Although Fraser’s performance is touching, the film is undoubtedly heavy-handed with the melodrama. Religious zeal, teenage angst and a downward spiral into depression might be a bit too much to handle when they play out simultaneously in the same room.

This, however, will not hinder the film’s success: The Whale has already scooped up a few accolades and is likely to receive more during this awards season, not because it’s a masterpiece, but because it ticks all the boxes that tend to attract jurors, sentimentality being one of these elements.

Mersa Auda

The Whale is released nationwide on 3^rd February 2023.

Watch the trailer for The Whale here: