The Whale director Darren Aronofsky says fatphobia criticisms ‘make no sense’

‘Black Swan’ filmmaker claimed that ‘people with obesity are generally written as bad guys or as punchlines’

Darren Aronofsky has defended his new film The Whale against accusations of fatphobia.

The film stars Brendan Fraser as an obese and reclusive English teacher who has a troubled relationship with his daughter, played by Sadie Sink.

While the film has garnered mixed reviews, Fraser has been praised for his performance, which saw him gain weight for the role and wear an elaborate prosthetic fatsuit.

However, the film has been denounced by many critics for its handling of the subject matter, with some deeming the film fatphobic.

In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Aronofsky said that he didn’t anticipate the backlash when first casting Fraser.

“Actors have been using makeup since the beginning of acting – that’s one of their tools,” the filmmaker said. “And the lengths we went to portray the realism of the make-up has never been done before.

“One of my first calls after casting Brendan was to my makeup artist, Adrien Morot. I asked him, ‘Can we do something that’s realistic?’ Because if it’s going to look like a joke, then we shouldn’t do it.”

Aronofsky is best known as the director of films including Black Swan, The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream.

Brendan Fraser in ‘The Whale’ (A24)

“People with obesity are generally written as bad guys or as punchlines,” Aronofsky continued. “We wanted to create a fully worked-out character who has bad parts about him and good parts about him; Charlie is very selfish, but he’s also full of love and is seeking forgiveness. So [the controversy] makes no sense to me.

“Brendan Fraser is the right actor to play this role, and the film is an exercise in empathy.”

This week, it was announced that Fraser had been nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the film, despite stating that he would not attend the ceremony.

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The Whale is out now in the US, and is set to be released in UK cinemas on 3 February 2023.