Why hasn’t A24 released a trailer for “The Whale”? I’m pretty sure it’s the only big awards player that hasn’t done so yet. Hell, even “Emancipation” has one. Part of me wants to believe that the people over at A24 are absolutely frightened by the reaction Brendan Fraser’s “fat suit” might garner once a trailer is released.
Regardless, Fraser received another ridiculously lengthy standing ovation at the BFI London Film Festival screening of “The Whale.” This latest one is up there, in terms of passionate applause, with the other ones he received at TIFF and Venice.
Edgar Wright was in attendance and tweeted:
“At the screening of Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’ I’ve never seen a more rapturous reception to an actor at LFF than when Brendan Fraser stepped onstage. This is before they saw the film. Afterwards, he could have crowdsourced out and be handed the Oscar on the Southbank.”
Fraser’s performance in “The Whale” is solid, I guess. However, let’s be real here, the buzz for Fraser is absolutely being driven by the infectious narrative behind it. Fraser’s gone through a lot, with many ups and downs, and he’s a survivor. Everyone is rooting for him because he’s a genuinely nice guy who got sucked up dry by this toxic industry.
The “Brendan Fraser for Best Actor” narrative began way before anybody had actually seen “The Whale.” If his performance was actually a total knockout, then we’d already be saying that he’s a cinch to win the Oscar. But it’s not and we’re not really saying that right now. There’s a real possibility that Austin Butler or Colin Farrell might win.
An email I received from an Oscar pundit this afternoon:
“The Whale” is a Best Picture nominee. You need to accept it, Jordan. Might even be a top six contender. Fraser will also sweep the precursors. Just look at this, another standing ovation he received last night. The celebratory nature of these screenings for Aronofsky’s film are a good indicator.”
My reply is this —
Everything he wrote is possible. Fraser is obviously a lock for Best Actor, but will he win? That’s another story. I find there are many fans of Austin Butler’s performance. Colin Farrell has a nice narrative going as well. Fraser is obviously up there. However, I’m sorry but “The Whale” can’t be a top six contender for Best Picture. The whole film is basically the Brendan Fraser show, plain and simple. It might sneak into the final 10 nominees, I’ll give it that, but its stagey nature, not to mention wooden screenplay, are a turnoff. It has a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on a hefty 63 reviews) and 64 on Metacritic. Those aren’t really top six numbers, sorry.