The 95th Academy Awards ceremony is coming up. Next Sunday (12), the public engaged in cinematographic productions will finally find out who are the winners of this edition. In this sense, in three distinct categories, the feature film A Baleia (The Whale, in the original)directed by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, competes for the award.
Telling the story of a university professor who teaches virtually with the camera off, the film presents the condition of Charlie (played by Brendan Fraser), who is ashamed of his weight. After all, he deals daily with the fact that he weighs more than 300 kg, along with a great deal of guilt for having abandoned his eight-year-old daughter to live a romance with another man.
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Based on the play of the same name by playwright Samuel D. Hunter, who also wrote the script for the production, the title makes a direct allusion to the novel moby dickby Herman Melville, whose plot brings, through Ishmael’s point of view, a hallucinatory hunt for the whale that would have torn off Captain Ahab’s leg.
If you were curious about the film by Aronofsky, responsible for Requiem for a Dream (2000), The fighter (2008), black swan (2010), Mother! (2017), among other projects, find out more about its cast in the list below!
Brendan Fraser
(A24/Playback)Source: A24
The main role of The whale is played by Brendan Fraser, who for many years has been sidelined from major roles due to numerous behind-the-scenes problems. Despite this, in his credits there are several important productions. In the field of series, it is possible to mention participations in Texas Rising, The Affair, Nightcap, Trust, Condor It is titans.
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He was also part of the dubbing team for certain animations, such as The Fairly Odd Parentsand starred in the franchise The Mummybetween 1999 and 2001. His career was also marked by the controversial film Crash: No Limitfrom 2004.
It is worth mentioning that for his performance as Charlie, Fraser is one of the favorites to win the Oscar for Best Actor, mainly because some “thermometer awards” have recognized him, as is the case of the SAG Awards and also the Critics’ Choice.
Hong Chau
(A24/Playback)Source: A24
In the running for Best Supporting Actress, Hong Chau plays Liz, one of Charlie’s only friends, who also works as a nurse. Gradually, the audience discovers more about her role in the professor’s life, including family-related issues.
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Despite not being one of the favorites to win the Oscar, Chau has a very powerful performance, according to most specialized critics. In her career, she has already played interesting roles, such as Elsa, in The menu (2022), and Lady Trieu, in watchmen (2019).
Sadie Sink
(A24/Playback)Source: Enter the source
One of the great conflicts in the narrative of The whale revolves around Ellie, the daughter that Charlie abandoned. Trying to reconnect with the teenager, Charlie promises and admires her in different ways. Ellie’s contempt is clear at all times when the two are together, in addition to the character not hiding her grudge for her father having chosen to love another man.
To play her, Sadie Sink was cast. The young actress, best known for playing Max in Stranger Things, from Netflix, fit the role perfectly, despite feeling over the top in tone at times. In her credits it is also valid to mention the short film in videoclip format All Too Well (2022) and the franchise fear street (2021), also from Netflix.
Ty Simpkins
(A24/Playback)Source: A24
Like its source material, the film also uses narrative resources present in theater plays to follow its plot. From there, characters enter and exit Charlie’s apartment after interacting with him. This is the case of Thomas, played by Ty Simpkins, who presents himself as a missionary from a certain Christian perspective in the United States.
With Thomas, many interactions between him and Charlie come up, as well as Ellie and even Liz. In addition to The whaleSimpkins is also known for joining the MCU in the role of prodigy Harley Keener, first introduced in Iron Man 3.
Samantha Morton
(A24/Playback)Source: Enter the source
Samantha Morton’s role in Darren Aronofsky’s film is small but has a great impact. In a few scenes, the actress gives life to Mary, Charlie’s ex-partner, who is painted by Ellie as a big bitch.
However, later, she reveals that she does not have great resentment for being exchanged, despite still suffering from many internal issues related to this trauma. Morton was recently seen in She said (2022), in addition to having the films Minority Report (2002), The messenger (2009) and the series The Walking Dead on your resume.
Sathya Sridharan
(A24/Playback)Source: A24
Lastly, there is a character even smaller than Mary in the film. Dan is the pizza delivery guy Charlie always orders from. The two occasionally converse through the door to the room, which Fraser’s character never opens until he is certain that Dan has left. Its interpreter is Sathya Sridharan, who has already delivered the cast of the series KaleidoscopeLittle America It is painful friendship.
Where to watch The Whale?
Until now, The whale is not yet available on any streaming platform in Brazil. However, the film is already available online abroad and can be seen in cinemas in Brazil.
In addition, with the success of the feature film, it is quite likely that the film will have its premiere guaranteed on some platform shortly after the Oscar 2023.
