Brendan Fraser’s comeback story may have peaked in his Oscar-winning role in “The Whale” (2022), but Hikari’s moving drama “Rental Family” proves that he still explores new depths. The Japanese set drama premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday and was able to serve very well as Fraser’s next ticket to Best Actor Race.
In the film, Fraser plays Philip Vandalprog, a lonely American actor from Tokyo. The possibility of an eccentric premise blooms in a deep, humane quest for belonging, identity, and emotional labor. Conceit is essentially a crowd pleaser – stumbling in the lives of strangers and finding unexpected connections – Hikari pilots it seriously, elevating it beyond sentimental comedy.
The film’s commercialized quest for intimacy arrives at particularly resonant moments. In our hyper-connected, yet deeply isolated digital age, “rental families” look at what happens when human connections become the service industry. The rental family phenomenon in Japan, in which people pay strangers to play the role of family, may seem alien to Western audiences, but it speaks to a global crisis of solitude that transcends cultural boundaries. Fraser’s American outsiders navigate this world will become mirrors for viewers and question the authenticity of their own relationships in an age of curated social media personas and transactional digital interaction.
The beauty of Fraser’s performance lies in pure and sincere execution. Unlike the obvious physical changes in the robust bravery of the “whale” and “mummy”, his Philip is quiet, tentative, troubling, and reveals a friendly layer of marginalisation. Watching Fraser has resonance – once everybody at the box office, and Hollywood’s exile, and Comeback King – playing a man who now feels invisible until he stepped into another person’s story.
This metatext dimension is cleverly used by Fraser and can be attracted by the actor branch. Oscar voters are often drawn to performances that blur the boundaries between roles and real personas. In Philip, Fraser finds a travelling character that somewhat reflects his journey.
Rental Family also has candidates for the powerful Toronto People’s Choice Awards. The TIFF audience has historically embraced films that balance accessibility and emotional impact. “The King’s Speech,” “Green Book,” and “The Fabelmans” are all past winners. Hikari’s film shares its DNA. It is frivolous, not emotional, not manipulative, not culturally concrete, but universally resonates.
The intercultural appeal of films speaks of the power of films that bridge seemingly insurmountable differences. By placing American protagonists in Japan’s unique social services economy, there is no traditional “villain” either. Hikari creates a lens that allows Western audiences to examine their own assumptions about their families. The film asks offensive questions: If you can buy authentic care, what makes a “real” relationship more valuable?
Fraser is an obvious award hook, but the film’s strengths are expanding. Hiko, who previously directed episodes of “37 Seconds” and “Beef,” creates a modest but visually rich story, weaving Tokyo’s neon glow with the intimacy of a makeshift home. The involvement of Searchlight Pictures guarantees a savvy campaign that could drive international categories like original scripts (including co-writer Stephen Blahut) and perhaps cinematography (Ishizaki decoration) and original scores (Yonshi and Alex Summers).
Hikari’s choice of directors has proven to be particularly refined in their cultural sensibility. Rather than exoticizing Japanese customs for Western consumption, the film treats the concept of rental families as a natural response to modern social isolation. Visual language seamlessly blends Tokyo’s urban sprawl with intimate domestic spaces.
Still, the best actors seem to be in the core play here. Fraser’s Heartfelt Turn, coupled with the TIFF topic, was easily placed in the top tier of the candidate, along with heavyweights such as Dwayne Johnson (“Smashing Machine”) and Jesse Plemons (“Bagonia”). They also point out the memorable rich works of Takehiro Hira and Mari Yamamoto in their support turn.
If Tiff’s Audience Awards historically pointed to the Oscar glory, then “Rental Family” could be the bridge for Fraser from the Comebackstar to the Academy’s flagship. And with the November release from Searchlight (the perfect timing for the awards season), there’s all the ingredients to make it one of the definitive cloud fun this year.
