The challenge here is balancing the nice feeling that knowing the great Brendan Fraser is back in the acting game and getting the critical recognition he deserves, with the certainty that his most high-profile role is going to be an absolutely gruelling watch. Which role is that? Why, The Whale, which hits cinemas on February 2.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky (who also gave us noted depression session Requiem for a Dream) and adapted by Samuel D. Hunter from his 2012 stage play of the same name, The Whale sees Fraser as the eponymous Charlie, a 600lb (270 kilograms, metric fans) man who lives the life of a recluse, his weight confining him to his home.
Knowing the health issues that plague him will kill him sooner rather than later, Charlie attempts to reconnect with his seventeen-year-old daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink of Stranger Things), but she’s harbouring a lot of resentment over the fact that Charlie left her mother for another man, who has since died. Can Charlie find redemption before all the sand runs through his hourglass?
Let’s be clear, The Whale sounds like a bit of a downer, a proper three-hanky weepie. But let’s also be clear, the former George of the Jungle and star of The Mummy known to the world at large as Brendan Fraser is a massive talent, and while it’s been fun seeing him crop up in stuff like Doom Patrol and Condor (and it’s a crime against art that we’ll likely never see his villainous turn in the shelved Batgirl movie) we are really looking forward to seeing him dig into a meaty dramatic role.
Anyone who remembers him holding his own against Sir Ian McKellen in Gods and Monsters and Sir Michael Caine in The Quiet American knows he’s got the chops for it, and hopefully The Whale will be the showcase role that puts him firmly back on the A List.
