The Whale

Film(s) to be reviewed:  The Whale

Purpose for watching the film(s):  

Acquiescing to the buzz - giving in to that persistent voice in the back of my mind saying, “Peter, they’re still playing Avatar: The Way of Water on 5 screens of every 10-screen multiplex, and the remaining screens are playing the latest horror flick, or Minions movie.  If you don’t drive to Orlando and see this movie at the one theater that’s showing it within a 100-mile radius, you won’t get another chance!”

My reaction to the film(s):

I’m going to write the following statement as though I am a writer for the New York Times, a publication that would allow me to present an opinion that someone has (or may have), and run with that idea as though it were a widely held concern:  In the film The Whale, Brendan Fraser is committing the worst kind of cultural appropriation by wearing prosthetics to play a person that could just have easily been played by an actor who wouldn’t need prosthetics.  The casting of Fraser in this role is as egregious as Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Barbra Streisand in Yentl, or LeBron James in Space Jam 2.  If you take the concept of cultural appropriation to its logical conclusion, there would be a 1:1 ratio of roles to human beings, with absolutely no room for fictional characters or depictions of historical figures (unless it’s a Weekend At Bernie’s situation).  That anyone, ever has a problem with an actor playing someone other than himself (or herself, as the case may be) is ridiculous.  On that note, I thought that Brendan Fraser did an excellent job finding the balance between pathetic and sympathetic.  From a certain perspective, Fraser didn’t need the prosthetics, as his character’s physical condition didn’t define who he was, it simply exacerbated his misery.  Perhaps that fact alone should silence the critic that I conjured up at the beginning of this review; everyone is capable of sinking into the depths of despair, and it is unfair to assume that only people who fit a certain profile could experience particular feelings. 

Closing thoughts about the film(s):

Ever since my first Darren Aronofsky film, π (Pi), I have been a little scared each time I see another of his films, I’m never quite sure what he’s going to do next.  Whether it’s using a common household item to relieve cranial pressure (as in the aforementioned π), or the crazy amount of abuse that the wrestler subjected himself to in The Wrestler, it’s good that he keeps the audience on its collective toes.  Sometimes movies are too predictable.