Weekend Watch: The Whale, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
A struggling teacher and a starstruck puppet
Image Credit: A24 Films
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Brendan Fraser gives one of his best performances and Guillermo del Toro realises a long-held dream in cinematic form. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
The Whale is being touted as Brendan Fraser’s big return, but in truth, he never really went away. What it is, however, is the most satisfying work he’s been offered in a long time.
Adapted by Samuel D. Hunter from his play, and directed by Darren Aronofsky, The Whale is the story of a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.
Fraser plays that teacher, Charlie, who has been struggling with his weight since his boyfriend’s death. Sadie Sink is Ellie, the daughter whose life imploded when Charlie left her mother (Mary, played in one spiky, fizzy scene by Samantha Morton) for one of his male students.
Then there’s Liz (Hong Chau), Charlie’s snarktastic carer, who has another, deeper connection with him. And finally, into their lives comes Ty Simpkins’ Thomas, a young man on a mission who is part of a church that also impacted Charlie’s life.
Fraser is, as promised, fantastic, loaded down with realistic prosthetics, digging deep to find the haunted, aching soul of a man whose life has spiralled out of control. Chau and Sink are right there with him, Sink proving that the performance she gives on Stranger Things (especially this most recent season) is no fluke. And Simpkins, though he has less meat to chew on, is effective.
Unfortunately, despite that clutch of very moving performances, the film around them never quite reaches the same level. It’s a decent enough story but rarely taps into the same emotional honesty as the actors.
Aronofsky and Hunter build a crushing, claustrophobic world around Charlie, but there’s something that rings false in how the film attempts to exploit his situation. Still, one to see for the cast’s sterling work.
The Whale is in US cinemas today. It’ll arrive in the UK on 3 February.
Image Credit: Netflix
“Passion project” is a phrase that is thrown around a lot, but it’s absolutely something that can be applied to this animated adventure from Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Not just because he’s been dreaming of making this for years, but the care, craft, skill and imagination poured into this film oozes out of every scene.
Carlo Collodi’s tale is, of course, one that has been adapted many times for the screen, including, famously, by Disney in animated form. The Mouse House attempted to turn it into a live-action/CG blend this year, but the results –– despite the presence of experienced movie veterans such as Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks –– were disappointing.
It’s safe to say that there is more creativity and original spirit in a single, spindly wooden finger of del Toro’s version than in the Disney do-over.
In del Toro and Mark Gustafson’s film (co-written by del Toro, Patrick McHale and Matthew Robbins, some of the familiar beats lurk –– the title character is created by broken-hearted wood carver Geppetto following the death of the man’s own son. The puppet is tempted by the chance to become a “real” boy (though here, he considers himself perfectly adequate as he is), and is lured away from the school his father wishes him to attend by a charming, conniving showman.
But though some of the elements are entirely recognisable, what the team here has done adds so many fascinating layers that you’ll be too taken to worry that this is approximately the 374th telling of the tale.
The stop-motion animation is bursting with creativity and style, and you can feel the love and attention that has gone into every shot. Story-wise, it’s a wonderful, evocative and (occasionally) musical take on the tale that, even with a setting in 1930s Italy, is timeless.
Pinocchio also employs some excellent actors for the voice roles – Gabriel Mann as Pinocchio, David Bradley as Geppetto and Ewan McGregor to name just three, while Tilda Swinton pulls double duty as a wood sprite who takes the place of the usual Blue Fairy and her sister, who is essentially death.
Filled with the sort of anarchic, soulful and supernatural touches that del Toro has infused into all his work, Pinocchio is a true delight, an animated wonder and –– assuming they don’t mind the darker take on the story –– one for the family to enjoy.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is on Netflix now.