The 52: The Whale

   From June 2023 to June 2024 I'll be watching a lgbtqia+ film each week and coming back here with my thoughts, feelings and plenty of hopes we aren't met with the "kill your gays" trope. I call this The 52.

I did not like this film.

That's it, that's the review.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Charlie’s identity as a gay (or bi) man is only spoken about for a few minutes total, but it lies at the heart of everything that happens and, of course, who Charlie is.

The Whale was… not conflicting, but it surprised me in that I thought I would love it but what I really loved was Brendan Fraser's return to acting. The film that brought him back, though? Wasn’t my cup of tea at all.

Fraser’s Charlie, a recluse since the death of his partner, has very few relationships in his life. His carer, Liz (an aside, promise I’ll be quick, but Liz: I love youuuuu), the students he teaches but never shows his face to, and the man who delivers his takeaway. Beginning to binge eat to cope with the death of his partner, we witness Charlie’s relationship with his body, deteriorating health, and refusal to go to the hospital as things become truly dire... all to a backdrop of his goodness and inability not to care.

Charlie is… kind in a way that I think only Brendan Fraser could portray. He is so full of joy and inescapable sadness and while the film wasn’t one I particularly enjoyed (or really wanted to finish, if truth be told), I very much enjoyed seeing such a beloved actor on the screen again. I loved seeing Brendan act, loved feeling him imbue somewhat lacklustre scenes, watching how he played off Sadie Sink and Hong Chau's scenes with his own inneffable prowess.

It’s a tragic film, and in my mind not a particularly good one, but the acting? The acting is everything.

It's also a kill your gays all the way.

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