'I stand by that': Brendan Fraser SLAMS critics of 'The Whale'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Brendan Fraser managed to light up the internet with an extraordinary Outstanding Lead Actor win at this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role in the movie ‘The Whale’. With this win, he is still touted to be one of the frontrunners for the Best Actor trophy at the 95th Academy Awards. Darren Aronofsky’s harrowing drama film has put Fraser back into the league of elite actors and has garnered universal acclaim for his portrayal of Charlie. However, there have been a lot of criticisms swirling around the movie as well and people believe that the film didn’t handle “obesity” in a subtle manner. Well, it seems Fraser has finally broken his silence on the matter and come forward with his view on the entire controversy.
‘The Whale’ sees Fraser playing a 300-pound man named Charlie who lives in isolation and wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink). Charlie has gained a lot of weight after the tragic death of his partner. The sudden demise of his partner broke him completely and as a result, he started to suffer from an eating disorder. As soon as the movie hit theatres, a lot of critics as well as viewers slammed Aronofsky for such a cruel depiction of obesity and gave negative reviews even when they loved Fraser’s performance.
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With awards season in full swing, Brendan Fraser caught up with Los Angeles Times to discuss his award-winning role and also gave a befitting reply to those who are criticizing the movie over the fact that it didn’t handle obesity in a good manner.
Fraser 'politely' gives a befitting reply to critics
Fraser had a humble and polite response to all the criticisms that were directed toward the movie and opened up about the reassurance he received from the production team. The actor noted that he “doesn’t agree” with the people criticizing the movie and didn’t shy away from taking a stand for his film.
“I respect those who don’t see eye to eye with the aims of this film. I don’t agree with them because I know that there’s no ill intent. I know I want to know if I — me, Brendan — have done any harm. But the answer I got from the OAC was, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’ We made the movie we wanted to make, and we made it correctly. And I stand by that,” Fraser told Los Angeles Times.
Why obesity is such a dangerous thing?
Obesity is a “complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat which increases the risk of health problems,” according to the Mayo Clinic. According to a WHO report published in June 2021, at least 2.8 million people each year die as a result of being overweight or obese. The USA has the highest proportion of obese people (36.2%) while Jordan (35.5%) and Saudi Arabia (35.4%) are second and third on the list.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons why people in the US were not exactly happy with the movie.
Nevertheless, Fraser is having an amazing time during this awards season and is enjoying all the recognition he is receiving for his role in the A24 movie. The actor has won 23 awards this season and recently edged past Austin Butler (‘Elvis’), Bill Nighy (‘Living’), Colin Farrell (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’), and Adam Sandler (‘Hustle’) to win the SAG Award for Best Actor.
It will be interesting to see if Fraser manages to continue his golden run at this year’s Academy Awards or not. But one thing is for sure, the year belongs to the Brenaissance.