Welcome back Brendan Fraser! After years of hiatus, he returns bigger (no pun intended) than he needed to. Going from a Hollywood action star to a prestigious artistic performer with this film. Darren Aronofsky is the hero of the story that is bringing Fraser back into the light. The important thing is does this film do Fraser justice? The subject matter of this is pretty heavy and not one everyone will be able to handle. It has nothing to do with violence, blood, or gory which this has none of that. It's the sheer amount of honesty, and in-your-face approach to the subject matter. This film deals with the issue of guilt, tragedy, loss, and regret, but also hope. It deals with those in such a way that even if you haven't experienced the problems, you still feel the weight of the pain, and difficulties the main character goes through. Every character in this have good morals, no one is the bad guy here. It's just a group of people dealing with a horrible situation resulting from a terrible tragedy that emotionally damaged the main character and finding a possible resolution. The emotion is felt throughout the entire film from the first shot to the last. All of the actors bring their A-game starting with Brendan Fraser who unleashes a barrel of talent he didn't have a chance to display before. Every scene he's in he executes them all with such precision that I immediately get attached to him. The supporting cast wonderfully complimented Fraser's performance with a deep, emotional from both Hong Chau and Sadie Sink. At first I didn't care for Sink's character but once I got to the end of the film, I understood what Aronofsky was going for and then I was on board and appreciated Sink's performance and character. Hong Chau is just incredibly subtle, contained, and although fed up with Fraser's character and his stubbornness and setbacks still deeply cares about him. That to me it what makes me like this movie, is the acting, the character interactions, and Aronofsky's honest direction. The only issue I have is at the very end, literally the last shot before the end credits. The moment felt out of place, and compromised the full potential impact of the ending. But because it's so quick it doesn't ruin anything including the ending. If you are a fan of feel good movies and seeing a chagrined actor return in a massive way, this is for you.
Review of The Whale
