By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1 cat
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Brendan Fraser | Hong Chau | Sadie Sink | Samantha Morton | Ty Simpkins
Country: united_states
Year: 2022
Running time: 117
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13833688/reference/
Brett says: “Already before coming to theaters with a whole convoy of dump trucks’ worth of hype, THE WHALE is a film that, unfortunately, will fall flat for many who are expecting some sort of transformative cinematic experience. For others responsive to highly elevated and stagey performances that just so happen to occur in front of a camera, it will surely satisfy.
“THE WHALE is a film that asks for too much forgiveness and too many excuses from its audience in order to believably operate in any sort of effective capacity. It’s not that the semantics of the plot do not or cannot happen in varying conditions; it’s more to do with the fact that none of those semantics would ever come close to aligning in any way that the film so conveniently lays out in such a contrived manner. The performance of Brendan Fraser requires an almost complete disconnect from reality in order for it to work. For some, that’s the magic and purpose of movies, so it will hit the mark in those cases. For me, I still have post-traumatic stress any time I see or hear the word ‘amazing,’ as I can’t quite shake Fraser’s cringeworthy PBS kids show delivery of the word over and over in the film that is practically begging for sympathy. For what it’s worth, this isn’t a condemnation of the man himself and his previous library of work. As a fan of director Darren Aronofsky’s previous work, the same is true. But, I know a ham-fest when I see one, and this falls in line with some of the hammiest that beg for awards considerations.
“The conventional narrative is a smorgasbord of hot button issues and modern cultural canon that somehow all find a way to collide in this Idaho neighborhood, of all places. Overstated and over-heightened in almost every line delivery of the script, it’s a wonder a film with this tone is part of recent years’ A24 film family. It is one of the most laborious experiences I’ve had in a theater all year. This is fairly consistent with any past viewing experiences where the cast feels as if they should all be wearing signs that read, ‘please watch me act.’
“The makeup and Hollywood ‘dressing up’ of a celebrity isn’t enough to make an award-worthy film. THE WHALE is a film that succeeds because of the meta-viewing experience audiences will undergo while connecting Brendan Fraser the celebrity, the actor, his backstory, and his previous library to this unexpected role. Most of the smiles, goofy head tilt reactions, and pouty faces are the products of a makeup and lighting team that I’m sure the Oscars will also reward when it comes time to hand Fraser a trophy in March.
“1 cat out of 5
“THE WHALE is a film from director Darren Aronofsky and is written by Samuel D. Hunter. It stars Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton.”