Brendan Fraser is terrific in 'The Whale,' a character study that mostly succeeds | Movie review

Dec. 19—Controversy has surrounded "The Whale," a character study of a reclusive man hundreds of pounds overweight, with director Darren Aronofsky having to defend both the handling of the obese character and the casting of Brendan Fraser instead of person the actual size of the film's Charlie.

As for the former criticism, "The Whale" — based on the play of the same name by Sam Hunter and adapted by the playwright himself — perhaps tiptoes up to but doesn't cross a line in terms of respectfulness for a person this size. Charlie is never a cruel caricature of a "fat person" but instead a person who often earns our empathy but also angers us.

And Aronofsky — whose films include "Requiem for a Dream," "Noah" and "The Wrestler" — has said he was concerned about an actual man that heavy being able to meet the physical demands of the role.

Regardless of whether you agree, Fraser ("The Quiet American," "Gods and Monsters") — wearing a suit and prosthetics that the film's press notes put at 100 pounds but that reportedly ranged from 50 to 300 pounds depending on the needs of a particular scene — gives an arresting performance that makes "The Whale" well worth seeing, despite some issues.

That's not to say the film — released in some markets earlier this month and going wider this week — is an easy watch.

Charlie spends most of his time on his couch and struggles to move around his modest home — a chain hanging from the ceiling helps him get into and out of bed and another gives him access to the overhead light. He has stuffed candy bars in drawers, and a pizza-delivery man knows to leave the food outside and take the money left for him in the mailbox.

Charlie, a college English teacher, holds classes remotely, during which he tells his students the reason they can't see him is his webcam is busted.

We first lay eyes on him during a, well, strange and private moment. He's huge, and he's sweating.

A wide-eyed young missionary, Thomas (Ty Simpkins), who picks that unfortunate time to pop by — and pop in — has reason to worry if something needs to be done right then.

Thankfully, his best friend and nurse, Liz (a steely Hong Chau, who also makes an impression in the recently released "The Menu"), soon is on the scene, taking his incredibly high blood pressure and helping him the best she can while knowing full well he won't seek he medical care he needs, even if she holds out the slightest hope.

"If you don't go to the hospital," she says, "you'll be dead by the weekend."

(He doesn't have health insurance, he says, and can't rack up thousands of dollars in debt.)

Their visit concludes with her resting on his shoulder as they watch TV and he works on a bucket of fried chicken.

Charlie will have more interactions with Liz and Thomas, but his real interest lies in spending time with Ellie (Sadie Sink), his estranged teenage daughter. Charlie left Ellie and her mother, Mary (Samantha Morton), years earlier, after falling in love with Liz's late brother, Alan.

Ellie agrees to visit him, but she won't let him forget that he bailed on her. She exhibits the kind of meanness toward him we learn she also levies against classmates, often through online venues.

Charlie only gets her to come back by offering to help her with her schoolwork and, more importantly, to give her more than $100,000 he claims to her to have. In return, he asks her to write something for herself.

Charlie can see no wrong in his daughter, referring to her as "amazing," despite at least some evidence to the contrary — including testimony from Mary, introduced late in the movie in a very effective scene.

Thomas remains key to the proceedings, endeavoring for Charlie to embrace the teachings of a nearby church that, we learn, played a big role in his backstory. Thomas also develops an interesting dynamic with Ellie, and it's unclear where these engaging scenes are heading, thanks in part to nice work by Sink ("Stranger Things") and Simpkins ("Iron Man 3").

We're pretty sure we know what lies just ahead for Charlie, a painful truth given that Fraser is so compelling in the role. Sure, the prosthetics are doing some of the work in bringing the character to life, but Fraser's is a performance full of life and emotion.

In terms of story, Hunter and Aronofsky struggle with making something of a metaphorical tie-in to "Moby Dick," via an essay about the famed Herman Melville novel from which Charlie keeps reading. On the other hand, the script does a reasonably good job in helping us understand how Charlie has evolved in this physically dangerous way.

And as steady as Aronofsky's direction is here — "The Whale" never threatens to become uninteresting — the ending is a little much.

Regardless of the controversies surrounding the casting of Fraser and his character, he's all but certain to be nominated for the best-actor Academy Award, and it's easy to envision him holding the statuette on March 12.

'The Whale'

Where: Select theaters.

When: Dec. 21.

Rated: R for language, some drug use and sexual content.

Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes.

Stars (of four): 3.