THE WHALE
4/5
BRENDAN FRASER IS enjoying the mother of all comebacks. The genial actor was huge in the early 2000s, with his easygoing charm making him an appealing presence in films like The Mummy and Blast from the Past. Then Hollywood forgot him. Until now. In Darren Aronofsky's The Whale, he plays Charlie, an obese, reclusive literature tutor confined to his apartment by an excessive weight problem that has got so bad, he has just days left to live. His only real friend is Liz (a spiky Hong Chau), who cares deeply about him. But aside from being bothered by a troubled missionary (Ty Simpkins) at the door, all he wants to do is make up with his estranged daughter Ellie (Stranger Things' Sadie Sink), the casualty in his ruined marriage to exwife Mary (Samantha Morton).
Adapted from Samuel D Hunter's play, The Whale deftly pivots between high-art (never has Herman Melville's Moby Dick been used so poignantly) and sickening lows. It's a red-raw story of redemption, one where Fraser leaves every ounce of himself on screen in what is surely an Oscar-worthy turn. Encased in swathes of prosthetics, he's almost unrecognisable as a man who abuses his body with venom. Some might balk at this particularly a binge-eating scene that is every bit as visceral as the drug-taking in Aronofsky's earlier addiction tale Requiem for a Dream. But the film has a good heart, working its way towards a transcendent finale. It makes you feel desperately for Charlie and his need to reconnect before it's too late.
The Whale is in cinemas on February 3
WOMEN TALKING
3/5
This story is from the February 2023 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2023 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.
May Fiction
An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month
Wine Not
In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food
Train Booking Hacks
With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again
My Britain: Cheltenham
A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here
Stand Tall, Ladies
Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?
