THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
As human beings, we are capable of making mistakes and it is up to us to determine if we will let them define us or not.
PLOT
Based on the titular play written by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale follows Charlie, a man who weighs 600 pounds. Ashamed of his appearance, he teaches online writing courses without a camera. Years prior, he left his wife Mary and daughter Ellie for another man named Alan. His lover Alan was a member of New Life Church as a missionary but chose to take his life due to his religious guilt. The loss broke Charlie and caused him to uncontrollably binge eat, hence his appearance. Now, he is taken care of by Alan's sister Liz who is a nurse. She constantly tells him to go to the hospital to prevent risking a congestive heart failure, but he refuses because he doesn't think he'll be able to pay off whatever would come from the debt. He also gets visited by a young boy named Tyler who claims to come from New Life and wants to save him. Liz is against his presence due to what had happened to her brother, but despite her objections, he still thinks he can help him. Charlie then pushes himself to reconnect with the teenage Ellie, who he hasn't seen he left her for Alan. He offers her all the money in his bank account, an alleged amount of 120 thousand dollars, in exchange that she spends time with him. She agrees as long as he rewrites an essay for her. During one of these days, Ellie would give him sleeping pills to look around the house. When Tyler visits again, she goads him to share his past. And with reluctance, he admits to have run away from home after feeling unfulfilled in his old mission and stole youth group money on the way out. Little did he know she would record this confession. At this point in time, Liz would bring Mary to visit after telling her of the secret meetings between her daughter and ex husband. Things would get heated more than ever when Mary mentions how much money he has. This would predictably upset Liz because she assumed he never had enough for healthcare. When she storms out, this would give time for Mary and Charlie to talk to each other in person for the first time since their separation. She expresses how they were great together before he ruined it and feels that she is a terrible parent on her own, as she describes Ellie to be difficult at home. When she leaves, Charlie would order another set of pizza. He would leave cash outside for the delivery driver Dan (Sathya Sridharan) to avoid making contact, but this time, the driver chose to get a glimpse of him for the first time. This would trigger Charlie to go through severe bing eating episodes and write a profane-laden email to his students to write something honest. Thomas would visit Charlie one last time to announce he's leaving due to Ellie reaching out to his former youth group and family, who miss him and want him to come home. This final encounter would only be dissatisfying when Charlie chastises the boy for blaming homosexuality for Alan to die. In his final class, Charlie would announce to his students of being replaced. Wanting to reciprocate the honesty he requested form his students, he would reveal himself via webcam. With them reacting in shock, he would end the class by throwing his laptop toward the fridge, which breaks it. The day after this, Liz would comfort him as he is nearing death. Ellie would return as well to confront him about the essay, in which he reveals he swapped it with a critical essay she wrote over Moby Dick, considering it the most honest essay he’s ever read. In his last attempt to reconcile, he asks her to read it aloud. As she does, he chooses to prove he cares about her by walking to her, struggling in the process. As she would finish, Charlie would briefly float and both people would be engulfed in a bright white light. The film would end with a memory of the two enjoying a visit to the beach.
THOUGHTS
When you hear a certain title of a story, you already become certain that you’ll feel something. That was the scenario when it discovering this one, making me glad to have been right. Director Darren Aronofsky is known to adapt stories that are out of the comfort zone. It was no exception here because it is the only way to express what Hunter was sharing. What is being witnessed is a relentless depiction of how the negativity boiled inside us can be evident in how people see each other. And no matter how severe our mistakes can be, it can never be too late to find redemption. This is captured thanks to the transformative Oscar nominated performance of Brendan Fraser. From the get go, it’s crystal clear that Charlie is one of the most complicated characters to root for. Its heartbreaking that he abandoned his family for someone else, yet you still feel bad for him that he suffered personal loss. People react to this scenario differently and his decision to binge eat is one shocking example. He had done it so severe that it damaged his heart physically more than mentally. He was giving up and was losing his will to live. Knowing this, he chose one last act of parental love as his sendoff. His attempt to reconnect with Ellie was his last chance to determine if he ever did any good in his life after all the pain he caused and went through personally. Sadie Sink was on point in expressing Ellie as a teen who is pent up with anger due to the neglect she’s been feeling and has struggled to express herself. She comes on too strong with her aggression and you can’t blame her after what her dad did. But deep down, if there is anything she had in common with him, it is the passion of honesty. She was honest with him the whole time as he was when they chose to. The more she chose to spend time with him, the more she felt her own regret. Her feelings are mixed because she hated the abandonment, but doesn’t want to regret being honest. Her resentment wasn’t making her feel better, her acceptance towards him was. And when she chose to read her essay as he walked to her, they were finally at peace with the past. If Charlie really is dead after this, then it’s pleasant knowing he got his chance to do right by the last person who chose to love him. As much as you feel bad for Ellie, you know you gotta feel bad for Mary as well. Samantha Morton portrayed her to be just as vulnerable as her daughter would. It was such a sudden change for them that she chose to live on with hate, unable to accept a terrible truth that wasn’t as loved. Like Charlie, she appeared to have her own addiction that was alcoholism because that showed how bad she wanted the pain to go away. She was the one person who couldn’t forgive the past because it was that painful for her. With Ellie having access to Charlie’s money, I would like to believe that Ellie will turn things around with her mother as they both shared such a struggle. While Charlie’s broken family having the right to be conflicted towards him, it was interesting to see people care about him 100 percent. Oscar nominee Hong Chau was the fiercest thing onscreen when playing Liz. As this character, she showed her to be one who wasn’t a typical best friend: She was willing to take care of Charlie as long as she did because he was the only good memory she had left of her late brother. Without him, she would be alone and she wasn’t gonna bear that scenario. The worst part is that he never listened to her as much as he should’ve. She was honest with him more than he would because she was the only one willing to tell him what had to be heard. Had she not, he wouldn’t feel prepared for the end. When she teared up when he shared his epiphany of believing people are generally insane, it was powerful acting to behold between both actors because we understood that those friends were accepting what was coming. Last but not least, Ty Simpkins was an interesting addition to the cast because the presence of Thomas created a bigger dynamic. I argue that Thomas was a reflection of Charlie who was confused on how to approach life and never had appropriate guidance for it. He originally ran away because he didn’t have the connection he was seeking and he was hoping to get that when trying to save others. Ironically, Ellie chose to save him because she knew saving her dad would be impossible at that point. Seeing her do something so selfless only further proves she will have good intentions for the future she chooses to build with the money and that I’m happy to realize. In short, The Whale is an incredible film from 2022 for its raw storytelling that becomes so rewarding in the process. You want a story that could change you? This one qualifies.
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