Review of THE WHALE: Overweight, Overburdened, Overwhelmed

February 16, 2023

Charlie (Brendan Fraser) was a morbidly obese middle-aged homosexual man who lived alone, still mourning the death of his partner Alan. He taught online college-level writing courses, but kept his webcam off so his students could not see what he looked like. Despite his massive body frame, impaired mobility, high blood pressure and impending congestive heart failure, Charlie still could not control his eating binges on chicken or pizza.

Liz (Hong Chau) was a nurse who visited frequently to check up on Charlie. She was Charlie's only real friend and cared for him genuinely. Dropping in occasionally was Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a young man who introduced himself as a missionary of the New Life Church, who expressed a desire to save Charlie from hell. Charlie wanted to reconnect with Ellie (Sadie Sink), his rude and rebellious teenage daughter by his ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton). 

This dark and depressing film by Darren Aronofsky was about the final days of a physically and emotionally trapped man. The screenplay was written by Samuel D. Hunter adapted from his own 2012 play. One can feel the theatrical origin and pace of the storytelling. There were welcome touches of humor once in a while, but the overall mood was heavy and sad. Delving into religious hypocrisy and LGBT discrimination, this film is definitely not for everybody. 

Hong Chau's Liz was a no-nonsense, frank but loyal friend. Her performance may not be so flashy, but her performance was nevertheless gritty and hit hard, hence rewarded with an Oscar nomination. Sadie Sink, fresh from her breakthrough in "Stranger Things" Season 4, had a strong impact as the very angry and very broken Ellie. Samantha Morton may only have one scene, but Mary's moment with Charlie was bittersweet and touching. 

However, the best reason for most people to watch this film is really to see the screen comeback of much-missed Brendan Fraser. His performance as Charlie had consistently been topping the Oscar predictions list for Best Actor from the start of the awards race last year, and now he's actually poised to win it. If at first it may have just been a sentimental vote, actually watching Fraser's performance confirmed that he IS the worthiest winner.

Fraser had been covered in a heavy, unwieldy, grotesquely deformed fat suit here, making this a most physically-exhausting role to play. However, this role was also as much a psychologically-harrowing and emotionally-taxing one as well. Yet beyond Charlie's checkered past and lonely existence, Fraser still managed to project a likable nature that shone through on his kind face. As Charlie knew his end neared, Fraser made us weep along with him. 8/10.