3.5 stars out of 5
The film we’ve all been waiting for: Master storyteller Guillermo del Toro presents Pinocchio from the POV of the whale. Wait, this one is Brendan “Mummy” Fraser in a fat suit? Jiminy Crickets!
There was so much advance buzz about Fraser’s comeback performance (I think the last time I saw him was an uncredited role in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star), that I’d forgotten this was a Darren Aronofsky film. I like Aronofsky a lot! Well, except for The Fountain, which was godawful, and Noah, which was pretty good but unnecessary. So, this was going to be extry good, right?
Um, no. Granted, Fraser does an amazing job and the movie is worth seeing just for that. (Would have been even more impressive if he’d truly put on all that weight — I mean, come on, a young DeNiro would’ve! Body Mass Index be damned!) He gives us the full gamut of emotions and feelings: frustrated, sad, frightened, determined, giving up, stubborn, sweet, optimistic, etc. There is also much physicality to the role and he nails it.
Unfortunately, Fraser is not supported by great material. This is where I felt a little cheated. Aronofsky usually writes the movies that he directs; this time it’s based on a play, with a script by that writer. And yes, it feels very much like a play: It is mostly set in one room (main room of the fat guy’s dingy apartment). Other characters enter and exit. Scene, fade to black, next scene. It just doesn’t seem to be a very good play. Our morbidly obese main character has a devoted friend who is thankfully a nurse (Hong Chau in a solid performance). A missionary comes by (Ty Simpkins not making much impression), and like a wacky neighbor, he keeps dropping in unannounced. Enter the estranged teen daughter (a very good Sadie Sink) who is resentful, nasty, rebellious, hurt. These four characters in search of a theme discuss health and religion and broken families and being honest and it doesn’t really get anywhere. I think I was supposed to well up with tears but I did not.
Fraser deserves an Oscar nomination; the film doesn’t deserve much more. (Will even be runner-up in Most Unpleasant Masturbation Scene of the year, after Funny Pages.) Watch The Whale at home or on a plane. I guess another positive is you’ll likely have small portion sizes at your next couple of meals.
Jack Silbert, curator