The Whale

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

★★★½

Hong outside 3_R2

(L-R) Hong Chau Credit: Courtesy of A24

Darren Aronofsky’s newest film, The Whale, is a story about how self-destructive grief can be. The story centers around Charlie (Brendan Fraser) and the few people who are still in his life. After his boyfriend’s death, Charlie becomes a recluse and copes with his shame, guilt, grief, depression and anxiety by excessive eating, becoming a six hundred pound man. With his friend Liz (Hong Chau) telling him he will be dying soon and begging him to see a doctor, Charlie seeks to reconnect with his daughter and make sure that he did at least one thing right with his life. These events precede the story and are slowly learned throughout the film.

The story here is quite heavy, focusing mostly on the empty, vapid existence of Charlie during his final days. Within this character there is a lot that is weighing him down; the grief of his boyfriend’s death, the guilt of leaving his family behind selfishly many years ago, the shame of what he has become, and the existential dread of the years he has wasted ignoring the loved ones in his life to wallow in his emotions. There are so many negatives in Charlie’s life, it almost seems to be overkill from a story-telling perspective, and the story surely could have benefited from peeling back on some of these. If not for the strong performances by Brendan Fraser and Hong Chau, this movie would have fallen a bit flat.

Brendan Fraser’s performance here is captivating, incredibly emotional and riveting. It’s hard to do anything but watch him when he’s on screen, thanks to what he brings to the character and the fat suit. His moments where he shares the screen with Hong Chau are some of the best in the film, and when they are together the chemistry between the actors is amazing. There truly is a sense of a deep bond between the two and some of the most emotional moments in the film come from their screen time together. Unfortunately, not all of the performances here are this impressive. While Sadie Sink plays her part well, it seems that she just wasn’t given a lot to work with in this film. Her character (Ellie) is very one dimensional, always playing the part of a teenager angry at the world. While this emotion is justified from a teenager whose father left the family and suddenly wants to be around again and whose mother is an alcoholic, this character would have benefited from being less heavy-handed with her anger. Another aspect of the film that felt unnecessary was Ty Simpkin’s character Thomas. While his character does bring up the topic of religion to the film and serves to open up some dialogue about Charlie’s past and well-being, this felt like fluff to the film and didn’t seem to benefit the story.

While The Whale is a bit bloated in some regards (no pun intended), there is still value in what Brendan Fraser and Hong Chau bring to the film. It is a story that can cut deep in regards to the self-destructive tendencies developed in life and inspires connection, redemption and honesty as a way to truly find solace. After Brendan Fraser’s long hiatus from the big screen, it is truly incredible to see him return and bring a performance like this.