The new Brendan Fraser movie The Whale has received another major film festival standing ovation. The film follows a middle-aged man named Charlie (Fraser) who abandoned his wife (Samantha Morton) and daughter (Sadie Sink) to take up with a male partner named Alan. After Alan's death, Charlie began binge-eating out of guilt and, now 600 pounds, is struggling to rebuild his relationship with his daughter. The cast of the film also includes Hong Chau, Sathya Sridharan, and Ty Simpkins. The film, which is due in theaters on December 9, is adapted by Samuel D. Hunter from his 2012 play of the same name and directed by Darren Aronofsky, whose previous works include Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, and 2010's Black Swan.Despite the controversies around the film and accusations of fatphobia built into the story and the way it is presented, The Whale has been drawing buzz from every leg of its festival run. After its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 11, it received a six-minute standing ovation, which brought Fraser to tears. Similar reactions have occurred at various screenings since then, with audiences celebrating both Fraser's performance and the fact that this is his first major film in quite some time after spending many years working on television shows like The Affair, Condor, Texas Rising, and HBO Max's Doom Patrol.
On his official Twitter account, Next Best Picture editor-in-chief Matt Neglia shared a video taken at the New York Film Festival, which is taking place at the Lincoln Center from September 30 through October 16. The video shows Fraser receiving another round of rapturous applause after a screening of The Whale. The star can be seen taking center stage and giving an emotional bow.
Will Brendan Fraser Win An Oscar For The Whale?
With all this buzz around The Whale and specifically Fraser's performance in it, it seems likely that he will at the very least be nominated for Best Actor next year. So far, he seems to be a frontrunner if not the frontrunner. However, as the other films' premiere dates draw closer, he will likely face competition from Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin, Gabriel LaBelle in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, and Austin Butler in Elvis.
However, controversial or not, the Oscars have a history of rewarding actors who have made physical transformations, either with makeup or otherwise. This includes Charlize Theron for her role as Aileen Wuornos in Monster, Joaquin Phoenix for the title role in Joker, and Nicole Kidman for playing Virginia Woolf in The Hours, among many others. With this fact and all its recent critical support behind it, The Whale is certainly a very strong contender.
Source: Matt Neglia
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