The Whale

The Whale

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 117 minutes
  • Genre: Drama
  • Stars: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton, Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau, Sathya Sridharan, Huck Milner, Ryan Heinke, Ryan Heinke, Huck Milner, Jacey Sink
  • Director: Darren Aronofsky
 Comments
  • billsfan-46428 - 27 June 2024
    Amazing
    Simply put, this film is a masterpiece. The acting is first rate, with main character Brendan Fraser putting on an award winning, through the roof performance.

    The overlay of Moby Dick and its main character Captain Ahab is masterful and hits the mark. The dark filming with constant raining sets the mood perfectly.

    The support cast is also fantastic with an exceptional stand-out performance by Sadie Sink as Fraser's daughter.

    If this film doesn't hit you between the eyes with you bawling your eyes out in the final 10 minutes, then check into an emergency room and have them check your pulse!

    I loved this movie!
  • MJB784 - 23 April 2024
    The Whale was difficult, but rewarding.
    I haven't seen the play it's based on, but I would imagine filming almost an entire movie on a single set being boring. While some of this drags, the makeup and Brendan Fraiser's performance are what mostly makes The Whale work and both won well deserved Oscars. His relationship with the caretaker who visits is interesting, too. We learn also that he is a professor for English in an opening scene on zoom which was kind of weird seeing his giant face in a square screen with other students, but still good and so are the scenes with his daughter, who he hasn't seen in a long time. I don't really think the Morman visiting was necessary and there isn't a whole lot to express on a filmmaking level, but I admired a lot of the story and performances.
  • mr_andy_1996 - 22 March 2024
    Evidence that critics are clueless, the oscars sometimes get things right and brendan fraser has been slept on
    You need only look at rotten tomatoes and this film for further evidence of how self indulgent and subjective critics are. The audience rates it 90 while critics rate it 60.

    If you're an overly tepid radical 'sensitivity advocate' as many of the critics seem to be, maybe avoid this one.

    So many movies that take place in fixed locations with very little grandiosity are loved by critics, yet they are boring and appeal to a niche that considers itself an opinion of authority.

    This movie on the other hand is one of the few that actually gets the emotional drama right. It doesnt need big set scenes, wide shots, or gimmicks to make a compelling watch.

    It has an excellent story, excellent acting, likeable characters and realism. Many more successful films have achieved none of this.

    The movie has messages that may or may not resonate. If you are emotionally closed or do not appreciate character drama you will not like this film. Like all media it is subject to taste.

    But, the acting is for the most part objectively great. The story touching and sad, but fulfilling.

    Its a movie to watch without distraction, when you are in the mood for nothing else but a good movie. Under these circumstances, if you dont need action or constant comedy. I cant see how anyone would dislike this film.

    Other than of course idiotic critics who think 'it doesnt do obesity justice'. Its not a story about obesity, its about a character. And the character is brilliant.
  • jenniferleemorrison - 11 January 2023
    SNUBBED by the Golden Globe Awards
    Brendan deserves every award possible for his role in The Whale and the Hollywood Foreign Press just added insult to injury.

    I am an advide film watcher and this movie had such an impact on me that I could not even leave the theater once the film ended. If you are not a compassionate or empathic person, I feel you may not understand the need to just sit and appreciate the story that was shared.

    This film is not just a story, it is an opportunity to see through a man's eyes that has lost everything he loved and then lost himself.

    Truly the best film and Brendan was BRILLIANT!

    Bring tissues!
  • bensam-73923 - 8 January 2023
    Simplicity makes for reality!
    This movie keeps it simple, and in doing so really lets you get to know the characters. The fact that the movie was this good when it all took place in one room is incredible. While the writing the was certainly great, this movie was carried on the shoulders of Brendan Fraser. He kept you watching every scene. The suit and makeup for his obesity was great. His scenes almost make you want to cry. These character all suffer from past and present sins. Even if you don't deal with the same sins, these characters feel very real, and you are sympathetic towards each of them although they are messed up in different ways. This movie is full of small heartfelt moments that make the movie. Fraser's breakdown in front of his ex-wife, his depressed eating spree, and the last minute of the movie were standouts for me. The depressed eating stood out because it showed how a complete stranger and small interactions can have a huge impact on people. This is very real and happens in the workplace. But this pizza guy who should've known that Charlie was fat by all the pizza he brings, looks as if he saw bigfoot when he sees Charlie for the first time. And this is what tips Charlie into full suicidal again after trying hard to make some connection with his daughter. While Simpkins and Chau did very solid in their roles, Sadie Sink was the other standout performance. What seems like an unrealistically naive teenager feels real with her performance. Yes, I realize I keep saying real, but that is what drove this movie: emotions. All her evil acts that would sound over the top on paper, worked with her performance. And the breakdown in the last scene was the best climax. People do care.
  • AnonymousFilmLover26 - 4 January 2023
    Gripping, intense, emotional. Incredible.
    Wow. I saw "The Whale" in theaters yesterday, and what a ride. It's rumored to be one of Brendan Fraser's best projects to date, and I can see why. The buzz surrounding this one has been great, and it's well deserved, IMO.

    The movie is absolutely worth watching. However, it's very intense throughout. Brendan Fraser's character (Charlie) struggles with compulsive eating. As a result, Charlie has gained a tremendous amount of weight over the last few years. When we meet him in his apartment, we quickly learn that he is housebound due to his size, and going downhill. More than that, he has battled obesity for years, and now faces certain death due to untreated congestive heart failure.

    That said, the movie is not actually about Charlie's weight. Numbers are never mentioned, though we do see adaptations Charlie is using: a walker, a handle above his bed, etc. It's really about 'the whale' his root problem has ballooned into: compulsive food addiction. Viewers can very obviously see he is a man of size, but Charlie is not concerned with his health. Instead, we see him use food as comfort. When it stops comforting him, he uses it to cause himself more physical and mental pain, going on extreme binges. He is a man full of self-loathing, and on some level, he knows his habits are "disgusting". Yet, Charlie is, sadly, past the point of return.

    Having pushed almost everyone in his life away as he put on more weight, Charlie is a lonely and reclusive character. Sadie Sink gives an incredible performance as his daughter, whom he attempts to connect with before his death. (Her breakout character on "Stranger Things" is not my favorite, but I do think she's given one of the most complex character arcs as Max.)

    Now. The plot of "The Whale" itself is beautiful. It is raw, and visceral all the way around. Charlie is a very good, intelligent person who has simply given up on himself. I found the movie to have a very somber tone overall, but Charlie is earnest. He intends to help others, and evoke true honesty from them in the process. The last bit of his life journey takes place over the course of a week, and his increasing desperation to just get on with dying, is plain. He wants so badly for his daughter to have a better life, and regrets the fact that he left her, after divorcing her mom. (I won't spoil the plot further.) Charlie hates himself for eating so much, truly HATES what he's become. And in fact, he's eaten himself to this state, so what's two large pizzas for dinner? A package of candy, tortilla chips, donuts...goddammit, why can't he just kill himself with food already???

    I try to be an open-minded and reasonable person, especially when it comes to movies. But "The Whale" is really a tough watch, in parts. It's 'just a movie', but it's really so painful to watch Charlie's binges get worse by the week's end...I had to close my eyes and/or look away at times. It's these moments of severe binging that are so intense...I actually found them grotesque and slightly disturbing, honestly. It's unfair, but that's the reason I'm rating as I am.

    However, "The Whale" is a stark depiction of addiction, and all the ugliness and struggle that accompany it (really any kind of it).

    Did I mention Charlie is an accomplished teacher? Melville's "Moby Dick" plays a meaningful role in this movie, which is very apropos.
  • bartgodboy - 2 January 2023
    You go see it because of Fraser
    This movie was so good. It was touching, deep, the acting from everyone is very good and it never looses your interest.

    Its not like we havent seen any of these story beats before, its not like this is breaking new ground in terms of originality, its not like it was a movie that switched directions every now and then. The story is predictable and not complex at all. Fraser's performance is what makes it engaging tho, who cares if this isnt the most original story as long as there's that performance to carry it. Maybe its just because I personally have lived with obesity but watching him was so engaging and heart wrenching at times. I never wanted to look away for the entire runtime.

    You wont be dissapointed. This is marvelous movie.
  • taryn-walsh - 31 December 2022
    A deep and painful look at unhealed trauma
    I walked away with the message that we all carry unprocessed trauma and it shows in different ways. The main character, Charlie, is has a challenging relationship with food and has put on weight to the extent that it has created limitations in every part of his life. The weight of his trauma is literally visible to everyone. The rest of the cast carries on this theme, and even though their traumas are just as big as Charlie's they carry it differently and have no problem telling Charlie that he should get help but have blind spots when it comes to their own coping mechanisms. The film depicts trauma manifesting as alcoholism, anger, people-pleasing, self-neglect, depression and suicide.
  • loganschainker - 28 December 2022
    I Wanted to Like it More
    The best thing that The Whale has to offer is undoubtedly the phenomenal performance from Brendan Fraser. He is for sure going to get nominated. In fact, I'd be very happy if he won. It's well directed by Aronofsky. However, I have a few issues that hold this film back from being great. The score. It's not bad at all it's just overused. The story is extremely similar to one of Aronofsky's previous films The Wrestler. And the last being that the ending did not really work for me on an emotional level. The Whale is a well acted, written and directed drama. But the unsatisfying ending and familiar story are huge drawbacks. I'd highly recommend just for Fraser's performance alone.
  • missreneb - 26 December 2022
    Brendan! Brendan! Brendan!
    What a wonderfully acted movie by all involved. I was suspended into Charlies world ached, laughed and related to him and the burden of his physical and emotional weight.

    Watching this film is journey that I liken to trudging through emotional mud. I do not mean that in a negative way, it is only the truth of it for me. It was long before my eyes were welling up with tears.

    Brendan Fraser is a gem of an actor and I am hopeful he wins a much deserved Oscar along with Hong Chau, Sadie Sink and the extraordinary talent of Adrien Morot who created the very realistic body prosthetics. Everyone involved with this film deserves high fives.

    And I just gotta say, Darren Aronofsky is brilliant, I find enjoyment to complete love and admiration for his work. The beginning was a powerful start and the ending was no less than beautiful for me.