Movie Review

Brendan Fraser is Oscar worthy in distressing-but-empathetic The Whale

Since the start of his career, Darren Aronofsky has been unafraid of making moviegoers uncomfortable. Whether it’s detailing the depths of drug addiction in Requiem for a Dream, showing the brutality of wrestling in The Wrestler, or making a brutal environmental allegory in Mother!, Aronofsky often goes to extremes to tell his stories.

The Whale fits right in with his previous works, as it focuses on Charlie (Brendan Fraser), a morbidly obese man who is unable to leave his apartment in an unnamed town in Idaho. Charlie works from home as a remote English professor, and is cared for by his friend Liz (Hong Chau), who brings him food and checks his health every time she visits.

Photo courtesy of A24

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Charlie is also visited by Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a missionary for a church called New Life, and Ellie (Sadie Sink), his daughter from a failed marriage that ended when Charlie left his wife for a man. Each person who enters the apartment impacts Charlie’s life in a different way, but the reality of his health situation may mean that there is little they can do to actually help him.

Directed by Aronofsky but written by Samuel D. Hunter (who adapted his own play), the film will be tough to watch for many. Aronofsky does not shy away from the reality of Charlie’s life in the slightest, including his need to use a walker to get around, his continued eating of very unhealthy food, and showing Charlie with his shirt off or naked on multiple occasions, giving a full glimpse at the level of his obesity.

But even as we’re witness to the worst part of Charlie’s life, the film makes sure to show that he’s much more than just his body. As seen with his Zoom interactions with his students or his conversations with Liz, Thomas, and Ellie, Charlie gives real thought to academics and the world around him. His control in those areas makes it even sadder that he is unable to rein in his personal impulses.

There’s an easy joke to be made about the title of The Whale, but it goes deeper than just the obvious comparison. From the start of the film, Charlie is shown to be obsessed with one particular essay about Moby Dick, a metaphor that extends to more than his appearance. His musings on that essay and writing in general makes him a truly empathetic character, not just one who garners pity or disgust.

While the film takes place almost entirely within the confines of Charlie’s dark apartment, Aronofsky uses plenty of different viewpoints and angles to keep it from becoming too claustrophobic. Keeping the film in one area also allows the details of Charlie’s life to be fully grasped, showing a lot of sad things, but others that are oddly hopeful.

Fraser’s performance is, in a word, astonishing. Laden with who knows how many pounds of seamless prosthetics, he makes you feel every inch of Charlie’s physical and mental suffering. The erstwhile star of The Mummy series has rarely been in consideration for acting awards, but he deserves to be at the top of the list for Best Actor at next year’s Academy Awards. He’s aided by strong performances from Chau, Sink, Simpkins, and, in a small role, Samantha Morton.

While The Whale makes for distressing viewing at times, it is balanced out by compassionate storytelling and well-rounded characters, making this one of Aronofsky’s most relatable films. The filmmaking and Fraser’s appearance and performance make it impossible to look away.

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The Whale opens in theaters on December 21.

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Movie Review

Andrew Garfield leads peasant rebellion in medieval film The Uprising

Photo by Betina La Plante/Focus Features

Andrew Garfield in The Uprising.

Writer/director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.

Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.

The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.

The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.

But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.

When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.

Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.

Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.

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The Uprising is now playing in theaters.

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