The Hollywood industry can be as generous as it is cruel. Thus it creates stars the better, often, to tear them down. It only takes a few failures for a beloved star to sink into oblivion. Except that there are sometimes filmmakers who remember: professional return and rise to the firmament for the fallen star… This is what is happening at the moment to Brendan Fraser, idol of the years 1990-2000, who is upsetting in the film The Whale (The Whale), by Darren Aronofsky, a magician from the comeback with whom we spoke.
From a play by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale focuses on Charlie, a grieving teacher who buries his grief — literally — under a heap of food. This, until death ensues. In the last days of this slow suicide, Charlie wants to settle some existential issues, starting with his conflicted relationship with his teenage daughter.
“We live in incredibly cynical times, and cynicism is an easy disease, because you have this false certainty that it will be easier to live without giving a damn about everything and everyone,” says Darren Aronofsky during an interview conducted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.
“COVID has helped separate us further. And what I love about Charlie, even though he struggles to love himself, is that he believes people are filled with love and compassion. I don’t think there is a better message to send to the world right now. »
Confined to Charlie’s apartment, the plot sees him interact with various passing characters. “I knew it would be difficult for me to make this behind closed doors cinematic. But it excited me. Constraints are an inherent reality in my projects, hence my conviction that a constraint is in fact an opportunity to enrich my cinematographic grammar. What I’m proud of about this film is that when I watched the preliminary cut, I didn’t feel claustrophobic. The camera was able to capture the fascinating performances of the performers. »
Speaking of performances, Brendan Fraser’s is as stunning as rumor has it. Moreover, while rejoicing at this return, we have often insisted on the fact that it is a composition in a dramatic register that is all the more surprising since the actor once distinguished himself in comedy. , adventure and action. But this is to misunderstand the very diverse filmography of the main interested party, who has already distinguished himself in the drama.
We are thinking here of school ties (elite college), as a Jewish student victim of the anti-Semitism of his wealthy comrades, in The Passion of Darkly Noon (Strange obsession), as a survivor of a sect, and Gods and Monstersas a young gardener courted by the sixty-year-old director of FrankensteinJames Whale.
It is true, however, that in The WhaleFraser reaches a true state of grace.
“The biggest challenge for me was finding the right actor to play Charlie,” says Darren Aronofsky. I acquired the rights to the play over ten years ago, and have given the matter a lot of thought. I met a whole bunch of actors, known and unknown, but none moved me. Then, one day, I happened to see the trailer for a Brazilian film in which Brendan had a supporting role, and I had an illumination. It was him. Sam portrays the character so beautifully, and with such precision, in his play and in his screenplay, that seeing Brendan suddenly felt like I was in Charlie’s presence. It was obvious. »
However, the filmmaker had to make sure that the actor was up to it, in addition to wanting Samuel D. Hunter to agree.
“I didn’t know if Brendan had that in him; if he could go that far, in his game. So I set up an audition in New York with Sam, and we just couldn’t take our eyes off Brendan. »
One return after another
Since the film’s premiere in Venice, there have been many comments on the fact that Brendan Fraser wears prosthetics and make-up in the film designed by Quebecer Adrien Morot, and which weigh 300 pounds (the character weighs 600). . However, the course of the actor, the evolution of his body in this case, makes the artifice honest.
Long recognized and admired for her athletic physique, the star of George of the Jungle (George of the jungle) and the saga The Mummy(The Mummy) overtrained for years and submitted to perilous stunts that ended up crushing his body. Even without the extra pounds he said he put on for the role, being overweight is his new normal.
There is therefore, because of Fraser’s presence, a fascinating and poignant commentary on the tyranny of appearances in the industry at work between the lines of The Whale.
It’s Brendan Fraser’s hyper-expressive face, however, that makes the magic happen. Unsurprisingly, the actor has been the favorite in the race for the Oscar for best male performer for months.
In this regard, when it is pointed out to Darren Aronofsky that after Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream (Return to Brooklyn), Mickey Rourke (even Marisa Tomei) in The Wrestler (The Wrestler), all Oscar nominees, and now Brendan Fraser in The Whalehe has no equal in orchestrating professional comebacks, the director smiles.
“You know, it happens every time in a different way. It’s never premeditated. For example, Ellen was my sixth choice for Requiem : all the other actresses refused the role, and refused to work with the low-budget director that I was. Ellen had seen Pi, my first US$20,000 film, and expressed his desire to work with me: I was thrilled and dazzled. Mickey, I was a fan as a child…I thought he had a unique talent and deserved a second chance. Brendan, meanwhile, I admit that I was not super familiar with his films: it was an instinct. »
About the actor always, Darren Aronofsky concludes: “To be quite frank, I had no idea that Brendan was loved at this point. The expressions of solidarity and affection that I have seen since we started writing about his performance in the film, it’s crazy! It’s crazy, and it’s beautiful. »
Like what, Charlie may be right to believe that humanity is filled with love and compassion.