Back in the 90s, I did a TV interview of actor Brendan Fraser when he was promoting his comedy, AIRHEADS. I found him to be a big charming guy with an daffy sense of humor. He made me laugh as GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE, he made me laugh in the 2000 remake of BEDAZZLED and I'm a fan of his action hero work in THE MUMMY adventures. I also felt that he showed impressive dramatic skills opposite Ian McKellan in 1998's GODS AND MONSTERS and in the little-seen indie drama, 2013's GIMME SHELTER.
It's been a few years since he's had a lead role in a film that's received major attention. Until last year. You may have heard or read that he plays a reclusive English teacher who gives classes via Zoom. He lives alone in a sad apartment, He's a divorced dad who stimulates himself watching gay male porn. One more thing -- this English teacher is extremely obese. A grotesque, pathetic man who will not help himself even though there are people in his life who want to help him. One person is his regular pizza delivery man. This indie film is called THE WHALE with the Fraser cocooned in some very complicated make-up and padding. Fraser received more than one standing ovation at film festivals last year after his movie screened. The Oscar buzz was immediate.
If you've heard that Oscar buzz, if you read superlative reviews for his performance, those reviews are well-deserved. Brendan Fraser gives a stunning, heart-breaking and memorable performance as a troubled recluse who is like a stationary train wreck. You can't avert your eyes from the terrible sight you're seeing. This film is based on a play of the same name. It was directed by Darren Aronofsky who presented fringe, non-mainstream characters in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE WRESTLER and BLACK SWAN. All three of those films earned Oscar nominations for their lead actors.
The title, THE WHALE, refers to the novel MOBY DICK. Fraser finds the humanity and pain in this character. But, man! This is a visually and psychologically dark film that shows the sad and ailing teacher suddenly start binge-eating with a frenzy. One scene of this would have been enough but the director shows him gorging himself more than once. You know he's eating to fill a hole in his heart or to kill the immediate pain. He's just killing himself. Those scenes are difficult to watch and they made me wonder if Darren Aronofsky really liked his lead character.
Charlie, the teacher, is visited by his ex-wife and his angry teen daughter. His most faithful visitor is his nurse/friend played with excellence by Hong Chau. One of the Academy's recent crimes with not giving her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her work opposite Matt Damon in the sci-fi/fantasy satire, 2017's DOWNSIZING. She was great as the one-legged woman who survived being a dissident in Vietnam and is now laser-focused on helping people in need. The actress followed that with another solid performance -- as the single working mom taking care of family matters at her late sister's suburban house and becomes friends with a retiree neighbor played by Brian Dennehy. 2019's DRIVEWAYS is a beautiful film, one of the best of that year, and it gave us Brian Dennehy's final film role.
I'm positive the Academy will grace Brendan Fraser with an Oscar nomination. Let's see if it also honors the wonderful Hong Chau. Here's a trailer.
Welcome back, Brendan Fraser.
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