By Steve Crum

There is good reason Brendan Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation by the Venice International Film Festival audience. They had just witnessed his incredible, Oscar worthy performance in The Whale. 

Based on the Off-Broadway play of the same name by Samuel Hunter, this film version is adapted by Hunter. The title has double/triple meanings. First, there is an obvious reference to central character Charlie (Fraser)—since he is a morbidly obese (600 pounds) English professor. Secondly, Charlie has an affection for Melville’s novel, Moby-Dick—featuring the killer white whale. It’s not a stretch to include a third element, that Charlie has spent the last years as a recluse in his house—perhaps a “beached whale.” Per se, of course. 

Director Darren Aronofsky veered little from the 2012 play, essentially containing most of his movie within Charlie’s living room and kitchen area. (A couple of other rooms are briefly shown.) In a flashback there is a beach scene with Charlie. However, most of the time Charlie sits in his easy chair, near a computer. He teaches a college writing class by ZOOM—with his square purposely dark so no one can see him as he talks. 

Kudos to the makeup gurus who created what appears to be hundreds of pounds to Brendan Fraser’s appearance.

As for in-person human interaction, Charlie does have a caregiver-nurse, Liz (Hong Chau), who is concerned about both his physical and mental health. As the story proceeds, we learn that Charlie’s overeating was triggered when his gay lover suddenly died. We also learn of the wife and child Charlie abandoned years ago when he moved in with his partner.

After his bitter teenaged daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) decides to show up at Charlie’s door, following years of separation, the two are faced with unanswered questions. This will soon lead to Charlie’s angry ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton) joining the two. Their encounters are both tearful and explosive. All the time, Charlie’s health (congestive heart failure) is declining. 

Add to the mix a major player named Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a door-to-door, teenaged Christian missionary. What a great acting ensemble overall. 

While the focus on Charlie’s physical challenge is important to the overall plot, Aronofsky does not exploit it. We are shown enough to surely be shocked and saddened, but we are also shown Charlie’s sweetness and desperation. 

The Whale is not an easy film to watch, but its concluding payoff scene is a bittersweet gem to say the least. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: B