The Whale (2022) Review
The Whale, a tough picture to see, features Brendan Fraser in an award-winning performance beneath layers of latex in a stagey, claustrophobic, gory, and occasionally intelligent film that is based on a play.
Fraser portrays Charlie, an online English teacher who is severely obese and whose body is giving up the fight.
Since the suicide of his lover Alan, a former adherent of a particular religious cult, he has been eating himself to death.
Key Points
His only regular interactions are Liz (Hong Chau), a no-nonsense nurse and Alan’s sister, the pizza delivery guy, and his online students (his camera is always off).
However, when Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a young missionary from the same church Alan attended, and Charlie’s estranged daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink), who was left behind by Charlie when she was eight years old when he left his marriage to be with Alan, start paying Charlie visits, things begin to shift.
Will Charlie have enough time before he passes away to accept the results of his choices?
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The movie has generated a lot of discussion.
- Is it appropriate for performers to gain weight in the modern era?
- Is the movie disrespectful to obese people?
- Is the request that we empathise with Charlie rather than making fun of him (as is the case with the majority of fat suit actors—Norbet, Shallow Hal, Fat Thor, etc.) progress or is it simply another example of patronising behaviour?
Director Darren Aronofsky doesn’t hide the humiliations that Charlie’s obesity produces, such as his perpetually wet t-shirts that usually have food stains and the effort it takes for him to use a walker to get to the restroom.
There are multiple photos of Fraser stuffing his face with fried chicken, pizza, and cake bars, even choking on a meatball once.
Playing with himself causes him a heart attack as well.
It’s fortunate that Fraser is such a nice performer, even when wearing latex and CGI, as much of this does seem superfluous.
His remorse about not being able to prevent Alan’s death is what is causing his depression, and his blue eyes crave for forgiveness and acceptance. He is hopeful that the chance to assist Emily would provide him with a shot at redemption.
Charlie is given a humanity by Fraser that goes above and beyond what the story delivers.
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The supporting cast was likewise carefully chosen.
Sink gained experience as a damaged teen in Stranger Things, and she adds this passion, rage, and sensitivity to the character of the daughter, who veers between being hopeful and malicious.
The film’s title and pretty obvious parallel come from her early essay on Moby Dick, which Charlie reads often. This writing stands in stark contrast to the short, irate haikus she writes with her father.
One of the movie’s more heartfelt sequences is Samantha Morton as Ellie’s mother and Charlie’s ex-wife in a fantastic appearance.
Chau, who is obviously devoted to Charlie but harbours unresolved grief over her brother and the church they both attended, provides Liz with much-needed steel and snark.
Thomas was a character whose introduction felt less natural, more like a plot device and a chance to criticise religion than a compelling one in his own right. Nevertheless, this was more due to his character’s position in the movie than to Thomas himself.
The Whale is a bleak, unyielding film with a crowded narrative consisting of disturbed individuals harming one another (this is made more apparent by the TV screen ratio).
It’s much simpler to appreciate this movie on a technical level than it is to like it.
