Directed By Darren Aronofsky

Starring – Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hung Chao

The Plot – An obesely reclusive English teacher (Fraser) attempts to reconcile and reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter (Sink), while the state of his health takes a turn for the very worst.

Rated R for adult language, some drug use and sexual content

The Whale | Official Trailer HD | A24 – YouTube

POSITIVES

Though “The Whale” is a performance driven film for conjuring some of the biggest and boldest emotions of the year, it’s not without technical merit, primarily from Aronofsky, who once again values meaningful merits of production to convey the bigger picture. For such a task, he calls upon longtime cinematographer collaborator Matthew Libatique, who not only shoots the characters as tightly and intimately as possible inside of Aronofsky’s first digital film presentation to supplant a naturally claustrophobic emphasis inside of this one-stage setting, but also tweaks the conventionalism inside of a 1.33:1 aspect ratio to articulate the loneliness and isolation of its suffering protagonist. In addition to this, pay close attention to the weather patterns persisting outside of Charlie’s apartment, as the consistency of elements visually and audibly shift to convey a stirring consciousness inside of the unraveling urgency persisting in the foreground of the narrative. Speaking of urgency, Rob Simonsen’s ominously foreboding musical score really helps to trigger an inescapable conflict inside of this apartment, all the while imbedding an air of complexity during moments of reflection that transcribe insight where the dialogue isn’t always accessible. On the subject of those aforementioned performances, the central trio all do their part to cement something tangible to the engagement, but this is the role that Fraser has been waiting a lifetime for, to show off his tremendous range as a presence. Brendan brings a gentility and overwhelming vulnerability to Charlie that immediately makes him investing, especially during passionate diatribes on the spirit of humanity, and when combined with the physicality he delivers while inside of this realistically uncomfortable body suit that physically transforms him before our very eyes, makes his case for the first of many deserving Oscar nominations. Hung Chao is also worthy of consideration as Charlie’s thunderous caretaker and sister in-law, whose own shared grief with the victim in question affords her several scene-stealing instances with a caustic wit, but also a longing regret for being Charlie’s greatest enabler. Sink has the most thankless job of all as a downright detestable character at times, but the angsty essence of her deliveries conveys a believability in the lack of relationship with her father, attaining for Sadie what is easily the most challenging role of her early career. Finally, while the adapted script from Samuel D. Hunter has many highs and lows that judge its prominence to the audience, the authenticity of humanity is most appreciated, especially in the psychology of how obesity is treated internally and externally. For the victim in question, it’s a matter of coming to terms with the reality of the situation, hiding himself in everyone and everything from the online students he teaches, to lack of mirrors inside of the house, to environmental appearances, especially when held in contrast to the meaning of the one clean room in the house that remains untouched. But with regards to those surrounding Charlie, it’s the familiarity of their distinctive looks that convey disgust and shame for something they don’t truly understand, in turn creating a stuffy series of communication between sides that really centers in and articulates the discomfort that is another in the laundry list of reasons for Charlie’s reclusive routine.

NEGATIVES

Not everything effectively renders itself here, primarily in two aspects with the script that continuously tested my investment to what is otherwise a smooth and easy 112-minute run time. The first gripe is with the aimlessly meandering emphasis of the opening act, creating an initial discourse with investment that saunters in its storytelling for what should be the inviting hook into characters and environments. It’s really not until Sink’s character comes along where the motions truly begin to move in motion, creating an effortless engagement to its insight and confrontation that not only builds with it an intriguing angle for the plot to rest assertively towards, but also begins a direction where many character arcs and evolutions can progress towards, wiping away an opening twenty minutes that felt a bit too sedated to compliment the opening introductions to the set-up. In addition to this, my single biggest problem of the film, and one that feels most relevant in its transition from the stage show of the same name to the silver screen, is underwhelming dialogue with its own abundance of creative problems. Sometimes that lends itself to heavy-handed and forceful deployment of necessary exposition to supplant a deeper meaning to scenes that initially begin on the surface level, while other times they convey an intentionally mean-spirited consistency that does miles around the necessary intention of their initial reasoning. I can understand that insults and observations are part of the aforementioned environmental influence in how Aronofsky depicts the tasteless and selfish acts of expression, but when its repetition becomes compromising to the entertainment value and even investment of the characters in the case of Sink’s Ellie, it starts to overwhelm the necessity of the intention, in turn articulating a toxic over-indulgence that goes a bit too far in its expressive articulacy.

OVERALL
With a career best performance from Fraser in tow, “The Whale” is every bit the uproariously echoing and devastating force as its underwater companion. Though the film can be a bit difficult of an experience at times, based on the sensitivity of the subject matter that it continuously tramples on, Charlie’s empathetic humanity eventually wins out, bringing us a gentle giant of a protagonist that we need, but don’t necessarily deserve.

My Grade: 8/10 or B+