Charlie (Brendan Fraser) makes his living as a reclusive online English teacher who never turns on his webcam. His obesity and health condition have kept him inside his apartment. His devoted friend Liz (Hong Chau), his only companion, checks in on him every day. Charlie’s intense physical and emotional suffering steers into an inopportune moment with a confused missionary (Ty Simpkins), which eventually leads him to confront his grief and attempts reconcile with his estranged daughter (Sadie Sink). Based on Samuel D Hunter’s play of the same name, director Darren Aronofsky’s visceral adaptation features a towering performance by Fraser, a cinema heartthrob of the 1990s.

Darren Aronofsky (b. 1969, USA) is a graduate of film and anthropology at Harvard University. In 1998, he released his debut feature Pi, at Sundance Film Festival where he won Best Director. His subsequent films Requiem for a Dream (2000) and The Wrestler (2008) made him an arthouse favourite. He received a nomination for Best Director at the 2011 Academy Awards for Black Swan (2010).