Review of The Whale (2022) by Markhreviews — 25 Jan 2023

In “The Whale,” actor Brendan Fraser (“Crash,” “The Mummy” series) is transformed by prosthetics into a character so morbidly obese that simply rising from a chair represents superhuman effort. Director Darren Aronofsky (“The Wrestler,” “Black Swan”) confronts us with this spectacle, then dares us to look away. Aronofsky also injects a few familiar elements into the proceedings – an anguished protagonist, surrealism and a general sense of melodrama.

In this chamber piece, Charlie (Fraser) has congestive heart failure. He’s literally eating himself to death. In Idaho. He’s unable to leave his claustrophobic, poorly-lit apartment. He spends his time teaching online classes in creative writing and receiving caretaker visits from Liz (a fantastic Hong Chau – “The Watchmen TV series). Realizing that he is in his last days, Charlie makes a final effort to reconnect with his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink – TV’s “Stranger Things”). As they story unfolds, the moviegoer learns that Charlie abandoned Ellie when she was eight because he fell in love with a male student. Unsurprisingly, Ellie has some anger and abandonment issues.

One of the fascinating elements of this film is Charlie’s steadfast optimism. When Ellie’s mother describes her as evil, Charlie rises, metaphorically, to her defense. It’s an intended irony that Charlie is able to offer powerful grace and absolution (there are a fair number of theological themes here) to nearly everyone but himself.

Throughout, “The Whale” feels much more like a play than a movie. It was originally a stage production, with playwright Samuel D. Hunter acting here as the screenwriter. Some of the “action,” dialogue and staging are never translated effectively to this different medium. It becomes a distraction when the actors sometimes seem restricted to broad movements and loud voices, mannerisms that don’t work well with Aronofsky’s camera inches from their faces.

It’s hard to know how to react honestly to Fraser’s performance. It’s a long Hollywood tradition to respect, even revere, actors who go through dramatic physical transformations. Think Christian Bale in “The Fighter,” Charlize Theron in “Monster,” Joaquin Phoenix in “The Joker,” or most recently Glenn Close in “Hillbilly Elegy.” Here, Fraser does a wonderful job of showing the humanity and humor of a character who could easily be singularly unappealing. But I’m not sure it’s worth the Oscar buzz generated by many professional critics.

Ultimately, “The Whale” is a study in inconsistency. Its paradoxes can be summed up by one of the key scenes where Charlie earnestly applauds and encourages the members of his online class who have made the effort to reveal themselves by expressing their own hard-earned truths. It’s ironic that this exhortation comes from a character whose enormous bulk is clearly used to keep everyone away.