After “The Whale” premiered, Brendan Fraser was criticized for not being gay or weighing 600 pounds for playing a character with those traits.
Still, the actor was brought to tears by the standing ovation he received at the premiere of “The Whale,” was one of the winners at the 2023 SAG Awards and is among the nominees for the 2023 Oscars.
In other words, his work in the film has, for the most part, been liked by audiences and specialized critics (the film has scores of 91% and 65% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes).
Although many were impressed by his last scene, the truth is that this last part of “The Whale” was originally going to be different: we will explain.
This was the original ending of “The Whale”
According to the specialized portal IMDb, initially the ending of “The Whale” was limited to Charlie walking towards Ellie while she read her essay to him:
I mean, it wasn’t planned for Brendan Fraser’s character Charlie to go on air, let alone the last shot seen in the film.
In it you can see a flashback in which Charlie and Ellie (Sadie Sink’s character) appear together at sea. This could be the most emotional moment of the two, which Charlie remembers at the exact moment of his death (you can read the explained ending of “The Whale” here).
This last shot was incorporated by Darren Aronofsky, director of “The Whale”, possibly to give it more nostalgia or to show more honestly Charlie’s sadness.
Let’s remember that at the end Brendan Fraser’s character (who can also be seen in ‘The Mummy’ on ViX+, ViX’s premium streaming service) apologizes to his daughter for abandoning her when she was just a child.
For this reason, the last shot of ‘The Whale’ (which was not in the original script), somehow exposes the weight that his daughter had in the life of the protagonist, despite the little he lived with her.
Other hidden details of “The Whale”
IMDb lists other curious details behind ‘The Whale’. Among them is the fact that the film was inspired by real-life events and that the young version of Ellie was played by Jacey, Sadie Sink’s younger sister.
It is also explained that at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky said that it took him a period of 10 years to choose the cast of “The Whale”.
When he saw a trailer for the Brazilian film Journey to the End of the Night, starring Brendan Fraser, the director knew he had to play Charlie.
Not to mention that this is Darren Aronofsky’s first film shot digitally and that Gambino’s Pizzeria exists in real life, being an Italian restaurant located in Idaho.
Would you like the ending of “The Whale” to be as in the original script? Or are you satisfied with these tweaks Aronofsky made? Tell us in the comments.
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Source: univision
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
