How to watch The Whale starring Brendan Fraser - can you stream it?
Fraser has sparked a debate online about the use of fat suits in movies.
Brendan Fraser has bagged the Best Actor accolade for The Whale at the Oscars 2023.
Based on the stage play of the same name by Samuel D Hunter, The Whale stars Fraser as a reclusive and severely obese English teacher called Charlie who, over the course of a week, attempts to reconnect with his high-school-age daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink), who he hasn’t seen in years.
The role had already won Fraser Best Actor at the Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Awards, and Best Actor nominations for the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes.
While the film has drawn plenty of acclaim, it has also been met with plenty of backlash over the decision to cast Fraser (who wore a prosthetic fat suit) rather than an actor with a similar build to Charlie, as well as accusations of fatphobia over the film's premise.
If you're looking to watch (or re-watch) the film off the back of its success at the Oscars 2023, read on for everything you need to know.
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How to watch The Whale - can you stream it?
There is currently no way to stream the Brendan Fraser film in the UK but you can still catch it in some cinemas.
The Whale landed in UK cinemas on 3rd February 2023.
The Darren Aronofsky film previously premiered at Venice Film Festival in 2022.
The Whale cast: Who stars in the movie alongside Brendan Fraser?
The cast of The Whale is as follows.
- Brendan Fraser as Charlie
- Sadie Sink as Ellie Sarsfield
- Hong Chau as Liz
- Ty Simpkins as Thomas
- Samantha Morton as Mary
- Sathya Sridharan as Dan
- Jacey Sink as younger Ellie
Fraser established himself as one of the world’s biggest movie stars in the '90s and early 2000s, appearing in the Mummy trilogy, George of the Jungle and Encino Man, but had dropped out of the limelight - until now.
The film stars Brendan Fraser in the lead role as Charlie, a severely obese English teacher.
Fraser donned a fat suit for the part, and previously spoke about the experience, revealing at the Venice conference: “I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed; it was like stepping off the dock onto a boat in Venice."
He continued: "That [sense of] undulating. It gave me appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. You need to be an incredibly strong person, mentally and physically, to inhabit that physical being.”
After the first images from the movie appeared online back in July 2022, a debate online was sparked about the use of fat suits in movies, with many claiming an actor of suitable proportions should have been hired.
However, Fraser recently addressed the controversy, revealing that the body suit used in The Whale is not a "one-note joke".
Speaking to Vanity Fair, he said: “I looked at other body suits that had been used in comedies over the years, usually for a one-note joke.
“Whether intended or not, the joke is, it defies gravity. This was not that.”
The supporting cast includes Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) as Charlie’s estranged daughter Ellie, Ty Simpkins (Iron Man 3) as Mormon missionary Thomas, Hong Chau (Downsizing) as Charlie's nurse Liz, and Samantha Morton (New York) as Charlie's ex-wife Mary.
Meanwhile, behind the camera, Rob Simonsen (Foxcatcher) serves as the composer, while Matthew Libatique (Black Swan) acts as cinematographer.
The Whale movie plot
The Whale's official synopsis reads: “A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.”
Is there a trailer for Brendan Fraser movie The Whale?
Yes, The Whale now has multiple trailers - you can watch one of them below:
The footage includes emotional scenes between Fraser and Sadie Sink, as well as Hong Chau and Samantha Morton.
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