Even before seeing the A24 logo, I knew that this would not be a fun feature. Having Darren Aronofsky at the helm wouldn't help. But it looked like one of the more intriguing offerings on my list, different enough from my recent viewings, and short enough (117 minutes) that I might not see fit to split it over two nights.
In modern Idaho, Charlie (Brendan Fraser) teaches online college literature courses with his camera off, because he'd rather hide his Class III obesity. In the first scene, he gets a heart attack but refuses to go to the hospital for financial reasons, even tho he can well afford it. The screen indicates each new day of the week, hinting that he really doesn't have long to live. Will he make peace with himself and his few acquaintances in time?
The movie is based on a 2012 Samuel D. Hunter play, but for less-than-obvious reasons, the setting changed from 2009 to 2016. You know how plays tend to be set entirely in a room or two? This one has the excuse of Charlie being a shut-in. He has a walker, and I'd be surprised if he weighed less than 500 pounds.
That said, it's not strictly Charlie's story, as he gets several repeat visitors. Let's star with his long-unseen 17-year-old daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink), who drops in despite a restraining order, apparently out of sheer curiosity. She still resents him for leaving her and her alcoholic mother, Mary (Samantha Morton, appearing only once), nearly nine years ago to take up with a male student, Alan. He promises her a huge sum of money if she returns, partly so he can help her not fail in school but mostly to spend time with her. Nearly everything Ellie says or does is bitter, rude, and/or downright cruel, so Mary has given up on her redemption, but Charlie takes an unfailingly charitable view of her.
Young missionary Thomas (Ty Simpkins) means well and sometimes does favors for Charlie, but he's slow to accept that his religious message is not welcome here, chiefly because Alan went to the same church until he committed suicide out of a sense of guilt, which started Charlie on the spiral that gained him so much weight. Thomas has his own dark side, which takes a button pusher like Ellie to uncover.
Finally, if Charlie has a friend, it's Liz (Hong Chau), his nurse and Alan's sister. I say "if" because she often gets infuriated by Charlie's lack of self-care. Small wonder his most common phrase is "I'm sorry." Her temper flares a bit more in the presence of Ellie and especially Thomas.
Charlie may be the principal author of his own pain, but this time, it didn't stop me from feeling sorry for him. He rarely comes across as a jerk, especially compared with other major characters, and his biggest jerk move has already cost him dearly.
Unlike some critics, I don't call the story "fat-phobic" any more than I do "homophobic." Apart from an oddly, well, uplifting end note, it strikes me as highly credible. Possibly a due warning on multiple levels.
To my surprise, I never even paused the film. I was enrapt for every minute of it. I'll be selective in whom I recommend it to, but just getting my recommendation at all is an achievement under the circumstances. My congrats to the people involved, not least Fraser.
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