[imagesource: A24]

What Brendan Fraser has done for Darren Aronofsky’s dark drama goes beyond a transformative performance.

Fraser’s career-best performance renders him almost unrecognisable as a morbidly obese man who is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter.

His performance has racked up so much acclaim that he is on the Oscar cards for next year, for sure.

A24 has taken its sweet time with this one, but the indie outfit has finally debuted the trailer, which is really more of a mood-setter.

Instead of dialogue, a hint about the plot, or any of those dramatic Oscar clip moments you’d expect, Collider notes, we get the quiet spaces that fill the English teacher’s life – the hallways, narrow rooms, and windows to the outside world.

The trailer also includes all the boastful blurbs and rave reviews for Fraser’s acclaimed performance:

The Whale has been making waves in the festival circuit since premiering at Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year.

In Venice, the film received a six-minute standing ovation and reduced Fraser to tears as he soaked it all in.

The film has pushed him into being a front-runner at next year’s Oscars, with The Whale expected to be for him what Aronofsky’s previous films have been for the other acclaimed actors he has directed.

IndieWire notes that Mickey Rourke and Marissa Tomei both scored nominations for The Wrestler, while Natalie Portman took home an Oscar for her performance in Black Swan. Ellen Burstyn was also nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Requiem for a Dream.

While The Whale trailer doesn’t reveal too much, neither does Fraser, saying that the movie will “be like something you haven’t seen before”:

“That’s really all I can tell you…The wardrobe and costume was extensive, seamless, cumbersome. This is certainly far removed from anything I’ve ever done but not to be coy…I do know it’s going to make a lasting impression.”

Fraser, as Charlie, will be seen battling personal demons as he tries to reconcile his relationship with his daughter after abandoning his family to pursue a life with his gay lover. The lover later died and Charlie took to eating to cope with his grief.

The film also stars Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton, Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau, Huck Milner, Sathya Sridharan, and Ryan Heinke.

Get ready for that “lasting impression” when The Whale is released in theatres on December 9.

[sources:indiewire&collider]