Review | Venice 2022: The Whale movie review – Brendan Fraser stars in Darren Aronofsky’s transcendent father-daughter drama. The Oscar race has begun
- Brendan Fraser roars back into form, starring as a morbidly obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter, played by Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink
- The leads’ performances are riveting, with Fraser in a convincing fat suit baring his soul, and Sink presenting a multilayered character
5/5 stars
Darren Aronofsky returns with one of the best films of his career, which premieres in competition at this year’s Venice film festival. His first movie in five years, since the divisive horror Mother!, The Whale also marks a remarkable, blazing return to form for Brendan Fraser.
The actor plays Charlie, a man so morbidly obese he’s confined to his crummy flat, barely even able to lift himself from his sofa. His only friend is Liz (Hong Chau), a no-nonsense nurse who looks in on him, desperately worried about his failing health.
Making a living by teaching creative writing via online tutorials (he keeps his camera turned off, so his students can’t see his size), Charlie has just one wish: to reconnect with his daughter Ellie (Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink).
Eight years earlier, Charlie left her and her mother (Samantha Morton) for one of his students – a man named Alan. He was in love, but now bitterly regrets becoming estranged from Ellie, a pot-smoking misanthrope, angry at the world.
“You taught me something very important,” she says, bitterly. “People are a**holes.”
