This year’s Venice Film Festival featured several draws, new films by Noah Baumbach, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and more, but perhaps no return was as anticipated as Hollywood legend Brendan Fraser, who stars in Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming psychological drama “The Whale.”
Fraser has been out of the limelight for a number of years now, battling with health issues, divorce, depression, and the fierce backlash he received in 2018 after accusing Philip Berk (then-president of the HFPA) of sexually assaulting him in 2003. And while he has made some recent—though marginal—cameos in films such as “No Sudden Move,” “The Nut Job,” and “The Poison Rose,” “The Whale” will be his first leading role since the actioner “Breakout” in 2013.
Adapted from the play by Samuel D. Hunter, “The Whale” follows a reclusive 600lb English teacher, Charlie, as he attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, Ellie, played by Sadie Sink (“Fear Street 1666 & 1778”). For what will be his first film since “mother!,” Aronofsky has pulled together a stellar supporting cast of established names and emerging talent, including Samantha Morton (“Minority Report,” “Synecdoche, New York”), Ty Simpkins (“Jurassic World,” “Insidious”), Hong Chau (“Downsizing”), and Huck Milner (Dash from “Incredibles 2”).
“The Whale” was produced by Protozoa Pictures, Aronofsky, Jeremy Dawson (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”), and Ari Handel (Aronofsky’s Harvard roommate and five-time producer of his films), with distribution to be handled by A24. The film was shot by Matthew Libatique, who has collaborated with Aronofsky on six occasions, including Aronofsky’s low-budget mindbender—and feature debut—“Pi” back in 1998.
This year and next—a period some diehards have dubbed the ‘Brenaissance’—are set to be big ones for Fraser. In addition to his role in “The Whale,” he’s due to feature in Martin Scorcese’s much-discussed Western crime drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the not-too-far-off comedy “Brothers,” starring Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, and Glenn Close. (He was also due to star as the villain Firefly in HBO Max’s “Batgirl” until the whole $90 million project was unexpectedly torched by studio execs.)
“The Whale” premiered at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. A24 will release the film on December 9. Watch the new trailer below:
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