Brendan Fraser’s career comeback role that brought audiences to their feet at its Venice and Toronto premieres dominates the moody trailer for Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale ahead of a Dec. 9 release by A24.
The film’s central performance by Fraser as a 600-pound teacher — a gargantuan body aided on set by a mix of latex suit and digital prosthetics — having eaten himself to death centers the trailer.
As his health crisis has his life fast ebbing away, Fraser in the short teaser clip questions: “Do you ever get the feeling people are incapable of not caring?” As he searches for redemption in The Whale, friends and family seek to offer Fraser’s reclusive character support and also exploit his good nature.
“People are amazing,” a defiant Fraser adds in a standout performance that has earned awards season attention.
A household name in the 1990s and early 2000s for major films including The Mummy franchise, George of the Jungle and more dramatic titles such as Crash, his star turn in Aronofsky’s latest drama has marked a return to the spotlight for Fraser.
The Whale is adapted from a stage play of the same title by Samuel D. Hunter. Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton also star.
