The Whale (2022)

My Review

Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor in a role as a morbidly obese man whose life is mired in problems. “The Whale” is mostly a boring recitation of someone’s personal woes and grudges in life, with overrated performances by Fraser and his co-star Hong Chau, who was also nominated for an Academy Award. The cause is over-direction by Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan” 2010) and a mediocre screenplay by Daniel D. Hunter, adapting the material from his own 2012 play of the same name.

A second Oscar for “The Whale” was for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, no doubt recognizing the makeup crew’s efforts in making Fraser look heavier with 300 pounds of prosthetics. Co-stars include Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton, and Sathya Sridharan. “The Whale” was a moderate hit at the box office, mostly with fans of art house cinema material, but did not float with the general movie-going public.