Topic: | Re: The Whale | |
Posted by: | Joe Conneely | |
Date/Time: | 04/02/23 15:56:00 |
With many festival awards and an Oscar Best Actor nomination, inevitably expectations are heightener for a film. Brendan Fraser as Charlie, an overweight gay and on-line English tutor in Idaho, who is on a mission to destroy himself by over-eating and ignoring medical attention, certainly delivers an acting tour de force of what life is like for such a person, laden with very authentic makeup prosthetics all over his body. Indeed, all the small cast involved deliver strong performances in this film adaptation of a stage play, which with its single apartment set and use of Academy screen ratio reinforces the claustrophobia of a solitary lifestyle spent gorging on junk foods.
The main problem seems to be as the story unfolds and the interconnection of the characters is slowly revealed, we end up with a script of caricatures e.g. the angry long abandoned daughter who Charlie wants to reconnect with; bitter ex-wife etc.. And to top it all every time there is a dramatic moment. the string soundtrack cranks up to ensure you are aware of it. Add to that mix endless references to the novel “Moby Dick” and a heavy dose of religious zeal across the film and this was for me a pretty depressing two hour film. I am sure anybody who has seen a relative or close friend self-destruct from over indulging in whatever personal excess they have chosen will relate to the Charlie character. I just felt that for all the accolades about this film that I had read, I came away disappointed. Director Darren Aronofsky has with the same style of story done much better before, notably “The Wrestler” with Mickey Rourke. |
Topic | Date Posted | Posted By |
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