Venice Review: Brendan Fraser In Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

The Toronto Film Festival ushered in the fall awards season on Sunday evening with the first in-person edition of its Tribute Awards in three years at the city’s historic Fairmount Royal York Hotel.

Clayton Davis It’s more than prosthetics. More than the comeback. Brendan Fraser’s work as Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” is a profound performance for the ages. The A-list star that brought us “The Mummy” and “Encino Man” goes above and beyond the calling of an actor, showcasing the vulnerability of a broken, 600-pound man. Like Aronofsky’s resurrection of Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (2008), Frase delivers one of the best performances of the year. “The Whale” will surely land him an Oscar nomination for best actor. The drama is a stark, dour examination of regret and addiction, wrapped into the script written by Samuel D. Hunter, who adapts his play of the same name. Distributed by A24, “The Whale” tells the story of Charlie, am obese gay man who reconnects with his estranged 17-year-old daughter Ellie (played by Sadie Sink) after leaving her and her mother for his younger male lover.

The Toronto International Film Festival, unlike the Euro film fests, isn’t known as a place for standing ovations. As soon as those credits roll, they need to jump into a post-screening Q&A, clear the theater and get into the next screening.

The Emersons are modest people. Running a farm, along with raising children to be decent, God-fearing and hard-working, is an all-day, all-week business; there isn’t much time for pretension. Even among the rustling pine trees in their little bit of Washington state, however, teenage boys may pick at guitars, noodle out a few songs that sound a bit like the Eagles, imagine rock stardom and dream of being discovered. The true story of the Emerson brothers would be like thousands of others, except for the fact that they were discovered. And that they were discovered, thanks to the internet, 30 years too late.

Brendan Fraser gives a cheeky smile while arriving at JFK airport in New York City on Tuesday afternoon (September 6).

Protect Brendan Fraser at all costs!

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Francesco Zippel’s Sergio Leone doc, which premieres on Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival, is the first portrait of the Italian master made with full support of his children Raffaella and Andrea. Titled “Sergio Leone: The Man Who Invented America,” the high-profile doc is premiering in the Venice Classics section for docs on cinema. It features an impressive list of voices holding forth on what makes Leone special for them. Among these are: Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Giuseppe Tornatore, Frank Miller, Darren Aronofsky, Damien Chazelle and Robert De Niro (see clip). But aside from Leone’s visionary talent as a director what emerges is that as his career escalated from the so-called “Dollars Trilogy” to “Once Upon a Time in the West” through to his final masterpiece, “Once Upon a Time in America,” Leone’s life was steeped in two inextricably linked passions: film and family. 

Colin Farrell received a 13-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival following the premiere of his new film The Banshees Of Inisherin.The actor reunited with his In Bruges co-star Brendan Gleeson and director Martin McDonagh for the upcoming drama about two Irish men whose life-long friendship is brought to an abrupt end.According to Variety, Farrell, Gleeson and McDonagh received the “longest and loudest reception” of any film yet to show at this year’s festival.However, the publication speculated that this was in response to Farrell, “who broke with tradition by wading into the crowd to take selfies with fans and sign autographs, which only made the cheering grow louder and more sustained”.Earlier at the festival, Brendan Fraser was moved to tears after receiving a six-minute standing ovation following the premiere of his new film The Whale.Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the film sees Fraser play a reclusive English teacher who lives with severe obesity. Stranger Things‘ Sadie Sink also stars, playing Fraser’s estranged teenager daughter.Following the film’s premiere over the weekend, footage emerged of the audience giving Fraser a rapturous reception.

Dwayne Johnson is sharing his support of Brendan Fraser, following the premiere of Brendan‘s latest movie, The Whale, during the 2022 Venice Film Festival over the weekend.

Brendan Fraser on Twitter, following the first screening of his new film The Whale. The psychological drama from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday (4 September).

The Whale at the Venice International Film Festival.The new film from Darren Aronofsky sees the actor play a reclusive English teacher who lives with life-threatening obesity.Since the film premiered over the weekend, footage has emerged of the audience giving Fraser a standing ovation, which reportedly lasted for six minutes. The star can also be seen to be tearful during the clip.The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay.

In a triumphant world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale received a seven-minute standing ovation inside the Sala Grande this evening. Star Brendan Fraser was visibly moved as he was embraced by his director while extended applause rang throughout the auditorium.

Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood at the 79th Venice Film Festival was met with many tears.

#Venezia79 six-minute standing ovation for #TheWhale,” tweeted Ramin Setoodeh, Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, noting that the actor tried to leave the theater but the audience’s applause made him stay.After reaching a career high starring in “The Mummy” franchise and “George of the Jungle,” in many ways, some consider “The Whale” Fraser’s comeback moment that could quite possibly earn him an Oscar. The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay.

The Whale” at the Venice Film Festival is any indication, Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood will be met with plenty of cheers — and even more tears. When the credits rolled on the Darren Aronofsky drama, in which Fraser plays a 600-pound gay man confined to a wheelchair, the actor was overcome with emotion.Fraser sobbed throughout the six-minute standing ovation for the film, which will likely put him at the forefront of this year’s best actor Oscars race.Among those spotted inside the Sala Grande Theatre were Pheoebe Waller-Bridge, Nick Kroll and Hillary Clinton staffer Huma Abedin, who was seated a few rows behind Fraser and shed as many tears as he did. Many others inside the theater also broke out a handkerchief during the film’s heartbreaking final scenes.

Venice Film Festival began in the Italian city on 31 August, attracting the great and the good from the film world. As the world’s longest-running film festival, it regularly attracts the crème de la crème of the industry, the most anticipated new movies, as well as some exceptional red carpet looks. This year will see the premiere of the long-awaited Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Gemma Chan, and directed by Olivia Wilde.

Brendan Fraser has played plenty of big-screen heroes, ranging from “George of the Jungle” to Rick O’Connell in “The Mummy” movies, yet he believes his latest role — a severely obese man in “The Whale” — may be the most heroic character he’s ever played.