Film Review – The Whale

“The Whale” is being promoted as a comeback vehicle for Brendan Fraser, who hasn’t had a significant part in a film for a long time, kicking around B-movies and television for the last five years. In fact, he hasn’t had a role like this since 1998’s “Gods and Monsters,” with director Darren Aronofsky putting his faith in Fraser to help realize the abyssal levels of pain contained within Samuel D. Hunter’s screenplay (adapting his own play). It’s a wild part, with the actor tasked with bringing to life a 600-pound man trying to eat himself to death while confronting his past, dealing with the few outsiders who still remain committed to the man in decidedly different ways. And Fraser’s never been better, easily achieving career-best work in the feature, which asks viewers to remain in a room with someone slowly committing suicide, yet Aronofsky and Hunter shape a largely riveting study of regret and release, rewarding patience with sharp character studies and an authentic understanding of shame. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com