New Trailer for “The Whale” Focuses on Brendan Fraser

Now that we've finally seen more than that same still image and a teaser, A24 has unveiled a full trailer for The Whale. Unsurprisingly, they're focusing on what everyone's here to see: Brendan Fraser's incredible performance.

Darren Aronofsky's film, based on a play by Samuel D. Hunter, has gotten mixed reviews overall. But as part of the narrative of Fraser's much-deserved comeback, it's been unanimously praised. The one-time star of George of the Jungle wore hundreds of pounds of prosthetics to play the obese, grieving man at the center of the story. He's got a deep well of empathy and humanity that the movie doesn't always possess. With standing ovations at film festivals and numerous critics awards, this feel-bad movie has become a feel-good story.

The Whale is now playing in select theaters. It expands nationwide on December 21.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.