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There’s no denying Brendan Fraser accomplishes the performance of his life in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. I say this as a long-time fan of his work. He’s always been a good actor who recently returned to the limelight. It’s a performance an actor can sink his teeth into due to the story’s intimate setting, which is adapted from a stage play. He’s not alone, however, when it comes to great performances in the film. Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton all do a fine job, especially Chau.
Where The Whale suffers is the script which is a little too on the nose and prominent. Sure we get characters who aren’t exactly how they seem, but the dialogue is too on the nose for something that’s supposed to be cinematic. This is a problem in many movies adapted from stage plays. What works on the stage doesn’t necessarily translate to the screen. It seems like we never dig deep enough. All the drama is very surface-level. While there’s a palpable sense of claustrophobia, you feel very constricted.
There’s no doubt in my mind The Whale has the best intentions. I’m just not sure how successful it is at conveying messages of empathy and understanding. Some individual moments work very well. The scenes with Hong Chau and Brendan Fraser are the best. In the end, though, the film is shouty and preachy. There are some noble themes like forgiveness and acceptance, but I also don’t think the execution of these ideas was always carried out well. Still, Fraser is excellent; perhaps that’s reason enough to check it out.
