Jacked In Reviews ‘The Whale’ (2022)

Photo: A24

After a long hiatus, audiences at Tyneside Cinema welcome the beautiful soul that is Brendan Fraser back to the big screen for Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.

No stranger to dependency-fueled features, Aronofsky trades in the class A’s for fast food. Based on Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, we follow the story of Charlie (Fraser) an individual trapped within the confines of his apartment due to his morbid obesity and debilitating health.

As we open with Charlie being caught in quite an embarrassing situation (quite the understatement), the first full sentence we hear is that of an essay on Moby Dick. And with that, the tone is set as we journey into a world of both obsession and addiction. Packed with symbolism from the get-go, we see Charlie struggle to his feet revealing, not only just how big he truly is, but also a patch of back sweat resembling that of a Whale’s tale.

Set predominantly within the four walls of his apartment, with brief glimpses of happier times, you can truly immerse yourself in the lead character’s lifestyle.

Fraser truly embodies the role and wears his heart on his sleeve, giving a stunningly, authentic performance throughout.

As well as a brilliant supporting ensemble, perfect casting doesn’t even come close to describing the main man himself. Having gone through his fair share of traumatic trials and tribulations off-screen, Fraser truly embodies the role and wears his heart on his sleeve, giving a stunningly, authentic performance throughout.

A tremendously, heartfelt story of loss and the devastating effects that can come with it. However, one thing is for sure… cinema snacks definitely aren’t advised as we see a man on a self-destructive path, filling a void and eating his way into an early grave.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Jacked In Recommends ‘The Iron Giant’ (1999)

The Iron Giant follows the story of Hogarth, a young boy who befriends a giant robot from outer space. Not knowing […]

Read more

Behind The Scenes of John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’

A story of psychological horror and isolation, featuring scares like you’d never seen before with its […]

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘The Five Stages of Wardrobe Assembly’ (2023)

A story of suppression, isolated from the outside world, we follow a young man (Kieran Mcmillan) as he begins […]

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (2022)

As the story of Thor: Love and Thunder begins we get a compilation that fills in what Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has […]

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘Crimes of the Future’ (2022)

After more than a twenty-year hiatus from body horror, the legendary David Cronenberg makes his long-awaited return […]

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘King & Pawn’ (2022)

Bringing humour to the pawn industry, we have Taylor Olson’s Canadian sitcom, King & Pawn.

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘All My Friends Hate Me’ (2021)

All My Friends Hate Me is set over the course of a weekend, following the story of Pete (Tom Stourton), who is […]

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘Jackass Forever’ (2022)

Originally starting as a series about a group of buddies carrying out stunts and pranks on each other, Jackass went […]

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘Noman’ (2022)

Matt Robb’s short horror, Noman brings the summoning/séance sub-genre to the 21st century, allowing audiences […]

Read more

Jacked In Recommends ‘The Platform’ (2019)

The Platform AKA El hoyo follows the story of Goreng (Ivan Massagué) and his abysmal days spent in isolation. The […]

Read more

Jacked In Reviews ‘Hellraiser’ (2022)

After a 4 year hiatus, a new Hellraiser dawns on the big (well, depending on the size of your television) screen […]

Read more

Jacked In Recommends ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ (1999)

Seen through the lens of a camera crew, we (predominantly) follow the life of high schooler/make-up artist for the […]

Read more