The Whale (2022)
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The Whale Movie Review
The Whale is a 2022 drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau and Samantha Morton. It’s a flawed, but strongly acted movie.
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“Who would want me to be part of their life?“
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In a town in Idaho, Charlie, a reclusive and unhealthy English teacher hides out in his flat and eats his way to death. He is desperate to reconnect with his teenage daughter for a last chance at redemption. Obviously based on a stage play, this film is the most confined so far in Aronofsky’s directorial output, which I mostly respected as a huge fan of small-scale, character-driven dramas. He should have gone with a more cinematic approach for sure, but the story itself did not need it to hold viewers’ attention, which it effortlessly did for me.
This is a very honest depiction of morbid obesity, which was unexpectedly refreshing to witness in the current increasingly delusional social climate in Hollywood. Every single thing that Aronofsky showcased here was grounded in reality – binge eating, all the health issues stemming from it and how for the most part unhappiness leads to obesity and not the other way around.
With that being said, the extreme emphasis on depicting the protagonist’s body deterioration was excessive and ultimately too repulsive to watch. It genuinely resembled body horror in certain sequences, especially in the beginning. Couple that with a very spineless, self-hating characterization for the central character and you’ve got a movie that so heavily tried to tug at the heartstrings, but not succeeding all that much as it’s difficult to care for a man exhibiting level of self-destructive behavior. Many of his lines of dialogue were not only manipulative, but plain pathetic.
The Whale also includes the theme of religion, especially as it relates to homosexuality, but they doesn’t really go anywhere with it. The missionary character really did not work and was not necessary to the larger plot at hand. The gay aspect to the story was sidelined, though the tragic backstory of his deceased partner did produce a couple of very sad moments.
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So yes, The Whale is very flawed, but it is worth seeing for the performances alone, and I am not just talking about its main star. Yes, Brendan Fraser is very good. This is probably his career-best performance and he’s quite believable and moving in the role. But no matter how good he is, you cannot deny that this is an Oscar-bait role due to so many speeches that he gets and so much prosthetics done on the actor, thus he is not my favorite actor here.
All the supporting actresses here were much more interesting to me personally. Of the three, Sadie Sink got the least amount of attention, which is a shame as she was excellent and perfectly cast as Charlie’s very unpleasant daughter. She was just as great here as she was in ‘Stranger Things Season 4’.
Hong Chau was wonderful as well and she deserved her Oscar nomination. She plays the most sympathetic character of the bunch and she was a scene-stealer in all her moments. But Samantha Morton is just as good and she also deserves more attention for playing the protagonist’s ex-wife with so much heart and conflicting emotions. The movie is definitely populated by memorable personalities and some superb conflicts, but it also has a lot of manipulative dialogue that seemed as if Aronofsky was trying way too hard to get that Oscar. The editing and pacing are strong, but otherwise the technicalities are pedestrian.
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While far from his best works, The Whale is not among Aronofsky’s worst movies either. This is a highly flawed drama that in its confined approach and performance and dialogue-driven narrative really worked, but it left a lot to be desired when it comes to its overall effect. Morbid obesity was depicted here realistically, but in that extremely graphic portrayal it veered too grotesquely into body horror. The spineless protagonist and the pathetic lines of dialogue that he was given did not help the movie either as it all felt overly emotionally manipulative. With that being said, it’s worth seeing for the acting performances alone, and I am not just talking about Brendan Fraser. He is very good, but his role here is clearly Oscar-bait. The much more interesting performances are to be found with the supporting actresses as Hong Chau is terrific, Sadie Sink was so well cast and Samantha Morton was superb as well.
My Rating – 3.5
Results
#1. What Oscar nominations did The Whale receive?
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