Darren Aronofsky Says ‘The Whale’ Fat Suit Controversy “Makes No Sense To Me”

After a hugely positive reception when the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it seemed as if Brendan Fraser was going to run away with all of the Best Acting awards thanks to his performance in “The Whale.” However, with the film being seen by a wider audience since its debut in theaters, there are folks who are upset with Darren Aronofsky’s film and its portrayal of a fat person. 

READ MORE: ‘The Whale’: Darren Aronofsky Says He Couldn’t Find An Obese Actor Who Could ‘Pull Off The Emotion’ Before He Cast Brendan Fraser

Speaking to Yahoo, Darren Aronofsky was asked about the controversy surrounding his newest film, “The Whale,” and its portrayal of the lead character, Charlie, played by Brendan Fraser. The film tells the story of a 600-lb man, Charlie, and his attempt to reconnect with his teenage daughter. For the role of Charlie, Fraser dons a huge amount of prosthetics, including a fat suit, to give the appearance that he is 600 pounds. While plenty of folks applaud Fraser for his commitment to the role, there are plenty, especially in the fat community who look at his performance, and the film in general, as offensive. 

Aronofsky doesn’t understand how people could see “The Whale” as anything other than empathetic and thinks Fraser is the perfect man for the job.

“Actors have been using makeup since the beginning of acting — that’s one of their tools,” Aronofsky said. “And the lengths we went to to portray the realism of the make-up has never been done before. One of my first calls after casting Brendan was to my makeup artist, Adrien Morot. I asked him, ‘Can we do something that’s realistic?’ Because if it’s going to look like a joke, then we shouldn’t do it.”

READ MORE: ‘The Whale’ Review: Brendan Fraser And Sadie Sink Are A Heartbreaking Duo In Darren Aronofsky’s Best Film Since ‘The Wrestler’ [Venice]

The filmmaker continued, “People with obesity are generally written as bad guys or as punchlines. We wanted to create a fully worked-out character who has bad parts about him and good parts about him; Charlie is very selfish, but he’s also full of love and is seeking forgiveness. So [the controversy] makes no sense to me. Brendan Fraser is the right actor to play this role, and the film is an exercise in empathy.”

Recently, an article written by author Roxanne Gay was published in The New York Times (it’s worth a read, for sure) and calls the film “gratuitous, self-aggrandizing fiction at best.”

She continued, “The disdain the filmmakers seem to have for their protagonist is constant, inescapable. It’s infuriating — to have all this on-screen talent and all these award-winning creators behind the camera, working to make an inhumane film about a very human being. What, exactly, is the point of that?”

Will the controversy that is being brought up completely derail Fraser’s attempt at Oscars glory? So far, he has received plenty of recognition, including a recent Golden Globes nomination. So, it would appear that voters are seemingly okay with his performance. 

“The Whale” is in theaters now.