End Credits #289 - March 22, 2023 (The Whale)

This week on End Credits, there's more here than meets the eye. Are we transforming? No, but we're here to talk about transformative performances and we'll start with the one that just won the Oscar for Best Actor. On this show, we're reviewing winner of two Academy Awards, The Whale, and we're going to talk about other actors who did more for a part than get a haircut.

This Wednesday, March 22, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:

Transformers. Sometimes it's not the cloths that make the man or woman, sometimes its more basic than that. In the history of film, actors have found great performances and great characters by losing a lot of weight, or gaining a lot of weight, or having to fake it with state of the art make-up effects. Before our movie of the week, we're going to take a minute to remember other actors who found their characters by changing themselves.

REVIEW: The Whale (2022). Most Darren Aronofsky are ensemble pieces built around one great performance, and The Whale is no exception. Brendan Fraser achieved a rare comeback after years away from Hollywood to deal with personal matters, and took centre stage, and an Oscar, for playing Charlie, man literally eating himself to death. Fraser's pathos and humanity shine through the layers of prosthetic make-up, but what about the dark and occasionally disturbing world built around him by Aronofskey. Is The Whale deserving of its biggest asset?

End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.