Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’, Star Brendan Fraser Enthusiastically Embraced With Extended Ovation At World Premiere – Venice

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.

The psychological drama was met with strong response throughout the day on Sunday with Fraser getting top notes for his leading turn. He plays Charlie, a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity, who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Aronofsky directs from a screenplay written by Samuel D Hunter, based on Hunter’s 2012 play of the same name. Also starring are Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton.

In his review, Deadline’s Damon Wise wrote that Fraser’s “all-in performance… makes adjectives such as ‘brave’ and ‘fearless’ seem almost meaningless” and said The Whale is “cutting the line to put a never-better Brendan Fraser at the front of the Best Actor race.”

Fraser himself earlier today called the role of Charlie “the biggest challenge” of his career and said the character “is the most heroic man I have ever played because his superpower is to seek the good in others and bring that out in them. In that process, he’s on his journey of salvation.”

Asked about his own rollercoaster career which saw Fraser as an action star in The Mummy and George of the Jungle, before withdrawing from Hollywood and followed by a recent comeback in TV series like The Affair and films including the upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, the actor sounded philosophical, “I looked different in those days. My journey to where I am now has been to explore as many characters as I can. I’m looking forward to how this film makes a deep impression on everyone as much as it has on me.”

Today also marked a return for Aronofsky, coming back to Venice following his divisive 2017 Mother!. He first staked his claim on the Lido with The Fountain in 2006, but it was the double whammy of The Wrestler and Black Swan (in 2008 and 2010, respectively) that pretty much established Venice as an Oscar launching pad.

A24 releases The Whale domestically on December 9.