It has been a couple of weeks since the winners of the Oscar statuettes were announced, corresponding to the ninety-fifth version of this contest, where they achieved important milestones, such as Michelle Yeoh as the first Asian woman nominated in the category of best actress – award, which by the way, won in front of a masterful interpretation of Cate Blanchett, who was the favorite of many – , the double nomination of two supporting actresses of Asian nationality, an unprecedented fact in this contest. On the other hand, “No novelty on the front” becomes the first German film to be nominated for best film, failing to win in this category, but managing to obtain its well-deserved award as best foreign language film, surpassing our trans-Andean sister in this category. And, of course, the Brendan Fraser Award, reborn like a phoenix from the ashes, to achieve his first nomination and award by the academy with his masterful performance in the film “The whale”, by American director Darren Aronofsky.
“The whale” has already hit Chilean movie theaters. Going to see this film is an overwhelming experience. They are two hours where we will be immersed in the claustrophobic world of Charlie, a lonely teacher with morbid obesity and mobility problems, who makes a living doing online classes. Throughout these two hours, we will see a story of pain, redemption, love, loneliness and hope, which undoubtedly cannot leave us indifferent in sensations, feelings and emotions in our armchair. Filmed in the same environment, with a gloomy and desaturated color palette, in a probably winter season, we moved and focused on Charlie’s daily life and human relationships. And, as Alfred Hitchcock achieved with “The rope” in 1948, the fact of being in the same apartment and not leaving it throughout the film, does not manage to be any impediment to maintain the attention of the viewer during the almost two hours of footage. Whoever has had the fortune to see this film, knows that you can not remain unscathed by such a masterful interpretation of Fraser, which, undoubtedly, makes him worthy of the statuette in this version of the Academy Awards.
Faced with this situation, a wave of criticism has arisen against the decision of the academy to give Fraser the winner. At our national level, the criticism issued by Antonia Larraín has stood out, but I must mention that it is not the only one I have read on social networks in relation to Fraser’s performance. It resonates in social networks, even before Ms. Larraín issued her comment, a series of criticisms that point out that Brendan is not morbidly obese or homosexual, therefore, this award would lack substance and substance, and his performance would not be real, being an offense to some individuals who consider themselves an integral part of communities that feel represented by the physique or sexual preference manifested by the character. That is, the thesis of this criticism is that the situation interpreted by the actor must be lived in the flesh, in order to fully represent the problems of his life situation.
It is well known that Fraser was off the big screen for years, as he suffered various physical problems for the roles he played, along with harassment problems by a journalist. After being the protagonist of highly grossing films, he became in the background in television series, not playing leading roles in many years, to this day. Is it then unmeritorious that this actor obtained the award, after a story of profound overcoming, where he managed to get out in front of his painful life situations through overcoming itself? Do you need to be part of the LGBTQ+ community to win, or be morbidly obese? In my opinion, the answers are clear: the actor has merits to spare, and his role is so good that it is not possible to say that he does not conform to reality.
It is important to bear in mind that when we talk about acting, we understand that an act is performed, coming from the medieval Latin actuare, and in turn, this of aggere, which implies the act of carrying out or promoting an act. Action, therefore, is putting into action, producing effects or performing a work. Any actor, then, by definition, carries out an act, a staging, represents a reality, manifests an action.
¿Was Is it necessary that in his time, Matthew McConaughey had to suffer from HIV to play Ron Woodroof? Or that Sean Penn was part of the LGBTQ+ community to play Harvey Milk? Or that Philip Seymour Hoffman (QEPD) was a journalist to give us the best interpretation of Truman Capote? That Adrien Brody was a Polish pianist to play Wadyslaw Szpilman? That Roberto Benigni was in a concentration camp to make us cry with his role as Guido Orefice? Or that Tom Hanks was an HIV lawyer to play Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia? That Al Pacino was blind to play Colonel Frank Slade? That Jack Nicholson had ever been in a mental hospital to play Randle Patrick McMurphy? That Marlon Brando was Italian, to be Vito Corleone? That Gregory Peck would have been a lawyer with a great ethical sense to be Atticus Finch?
All this, looked back, is considered derisory. And it is that acting, in itself, is an art, and lies in the ability of the interpreter to be able to embody a role that is not his own, but that makes him as own as his flesh, managing to excite to the core those who appreciate his interpretations. Demanding certain standards, we would have missed out on great performances in the cinema in a petty way.
Brendan Fraser deserves the Oscar for best actor, as much as many of his predecessors deserved, because his role is memorable, and manages to convey Charlie’s feelings in his own flesh. Although he has not lived some of these situations, he has lived others that have led him to hit bottom, and as he himself stated in his speech when he received the award “It has been as if I had been diving at the bottom of the ocean, and the air of my breath on the surface had been watched by some people in my life” alluding to his loved ones. Like Charlie, he was in a deep pit, but the love of his children, family and friends, managed to get him afloat from that deep sea of musings, frustrations and pain, and could see the light raising the statuette in these awards.
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The content expressed in this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
