‘The Whale’ has a gigantic performance by Brendan Fraser, but falls short in weightless melodrama; g1 already seen

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Actor deserves all the awards for his work, as well as supporting Hong Chau, but director Darren Aronofsky makes one of his least impactful films. At the end of “The Whale”, new film by director Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”), there is no doubt that Brendan Fraser deserves favoritism for the best actor category at the 2023 Oscars. fair (23) still has two other nominations (supporting actress for Hong Chau and make-up and hair), very fair, but she can’t go further. Unfortunately, the adaptation of the play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter, who also signs the script, is stuck in a melodrama with obvious and weightless messages. As for the filmmaker, who even when he stumbled over his weaknesses managed to at least use his incredible talent for tension and claustrophobia, as in “Mother!” (2017), cannot repeat the same effect. The result is a low impact and predictable film, one of the most forgettable in a career full of outstanding works. Watch the trailer for ‘The Whale’ The Humans In “The Whale,” Fraser plays a reclusive English teacher who, forced to face his own mortality because of the obesity that keeps him trapped in his apartment, decides to reconnect with his daughter. His performance certainly deserves all the recognition this awards season. It’s hard to imagine another actor capable of delivering a protagonist so full of tenderness that allows an almost instantaneous connection with the audience, even with the clothes and makeup that leave him with the appearance of more than 300 kilos and the – many – character defects . By his side, Chau (“Watchmen”) manages to overcome the archetype of the tough and surly nurse with a genuine and painful relationship with the friend/patient, who struggles to convince him to go to the doctor at the same time that he facilitates his lifestyle. unhealthy life. Hong Chau in ‘The Whale’ Disclosure Characters full of contradictions, even if fitted into predictable patterns, are Aronofsky’s specialty – and part of his appeal with the public. But in “The Whale” he seems distracted by plots about religiosity and faith. Such discussions are common in his work, but they were never so superficial or obvious. Even in the 2017 film, an almost literal allegory – however contradictory it may seem – of the Bible, sounded less dull. Worse than that. This time, they are completely unnecessary to the story. Ty Simpkins and Sadie Sink in ‘The Whale’ Publicity Who saw you Another problem is the darkness of the photograph. Despite a clear trend (or the opposite, in fact) across American cinema, which produces increasingly darker films, “The Whale” still stands out in relation to the rest. The choice may increase the sensation of claustrophobia sought by the filmmaker, with the protagonist trapped inside his apartment, his body and his own traumas and uncertainties, but it makes a more general appreciation of the audience very difficult. The lighting seems to improve as the story progresses and as the character breaks free from such shackles, but it has such an imperceptible evolution that it’s hard to say for sure if it was intentional. “The Whale” could be as big as its performances. Unfortunately, as can often happen in more authorial works, it gets bogged down in the filmmaker’s mannerisms.

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