The Whale (2022)

Brendan Fraser delivers a triumphant comeback performance in Darren Aronofsky’s most recent feature “The Whale”. Samuel D. Hunter adapts his own award-winning play for the big screen, telling a devastating story about one man’s last shot at redemption. Aronofsky’s decade-long quest to get the film made has finally come to fruition in the form of a haunting drama that takes place entirely in one apartment in Idaho during the 2016 U.S. election.

Charlie (Brendan Fraser) is a reclusive college professor who teaches online writing classes from the comfort of his couch and behind the façade of a broken laptop camera. He has no friends, apart from his nurse Liz (Hong Chau), and the only visitors he gets are a pizza delivery guy and a Mormon missionary called Thomas (Ty Simpkins). Charlie’s obesity is causing detrimental damage to his health and his steadfast refusal to go to the hospital doesn’t help, but when Liz tells him he’s at risk of heart failure, the grave reality of his situation dawns on Charlie. With only weeks, if not days left, he decides to attempt to reconnect with his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink).

“The Whale” is fuelled by sensational turns from the entire cast, but Brendan Fraser’s portrayal of Charlie stands out as one of the best performances of 2022. Fraser captures heart-breaking emotion in his performance, effortlessly bringing Charlie’s vulnerability to the screen. The various prosthetic pieces Fraser donned to transform into Charlie elevated his performance to another level, balancing impactful emotion with an impressive physical performance also. The film allows Fraser to deliver the best performance of his career that will hopefully garner the actor his first Oscar nomination. “Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink appears alongside Fraser taking on the role of Ellie, Charlie’s estranged teenage daughter. Sink delivers a powerful performance that immediately lets audiences know just how spiteful the 17-year-old highschooler can be, spitting venomous words taken straight from the pages of Hunter’s play. Hong Chau adds to her already impressive year, appearing in Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up” and Mark Mylod’s “The Menu”, delivering a stunning performance, shining in every scene she’s in.

“The Whale” is a stellar adaptation of Hunter’s play, it flawlessly brings the characters and the story to the screen through a layered, thematic screenplay that forms the foundation for an impactful drama. The film balances a handful of emotions including guilt, shame, and anger, and themes like grief and religion. “Insidious” star Ty Simpkins, through a strong performance, embodies the film’s themes of religion by portraying a Mormon missionary who tries to convert Charlie to Mormonism in order to ‘save him’, but as the film progresses it’s revealed that both Charlie and Liz already have a connection to the religion, bringing up painful memories and opening old wounds. The film also weaves in references to the Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” and other marine-themed components including the recurring sound of waves which was taken directly from Hunter’s play.

Oscar-nominee and long-time Aronofsky collaborator Matthew Libatique once again gets to show off his immense talent for creating stunning visuals. Libatique uses the fact that the film takes place entirely in one location (Charlie’s apartment), except for one scene at the start, to craft stunning visuals that emphasises the isolation Charlie feels because he’s unable to leave his apartment. This puts the audience in his shoes, allowing them to feel the same isolation he does, only seeing other people when they come to visit. Libatique’s work compliments the other technical aspects of the film, from Andrew Weisblum’s editing to the remarkaPble special effects makeup, courtesy of Adrien Morot (“Barney’s Version”), that reinforces Fraser’s performance. Composer Rob Simonsen (“Foxcatcher”) produces a haunting score that excellently matches the film’s empathy and aching sadness.

“The Whale” is a film lead by an outstanding performance from Brendan Fraser and is bolstered by marvellous supporting turns from Sadie Sink, Hong Chau and Ty Simpkins. Darren Aronofsky directs a sensational adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s play, and fingers crossed he directs Fraser to a very well-deserved Oscar nomination. This is by far one of 2022’s most powerful films, full to the brim with gut-wrenching emotion that will leave you teary eyed. “The Whale” sticks with you long after the credits have rolled, from the performances (especially Fraser’s and Sink’s) to the complex themes covered throughout the neat two-hour runtime.