The Whale (2022 Film)

''The Whale'' is a 2022 American drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky. It is based on a screenplay by Samuel D. Hunter, adapting his 2012 play of the same name. The film stars Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton. In the film, a morbidly obese, reclusive English teacher tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter.

''The Whale'' had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2022, and was released in the United States on December 9, 2022, by A24. The film received polarized reviews from critics, though the cast's performances (particularly Fraser and Chau) were praised, with Fraser earning nominations for Best Actor at the 80th Golden Globe Awards and the 28th Critics' Choice Awards.

Plot

Charlie is a morbidly obese, reclusive professor who teaches online college writing courses but keeps his webcam switched off, afraid to show his appearance to the students. Charlie is cared for by his nurse and only friend Liz who urges him to visit a hospital as he is at severe risk of congestive heart failure. He is also visited by Thomas, a New Life Church missionary who tries to evangelize him. Charlie frequently orders pizza to which he and his delivery driver Dan follow a usual routine: He leaves the pizza on the porch, takes the money from the mailbox, and leaves without ever interacting with Charlie.

Charlie has also been attempting to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter Ellie whom he has not seen in eight years. Charlie offers her all the money in his bank account to persuade Ellie to spend time with him without her mother's knowledge. Ellie agrees, but only if Charlie helps her rewrite an essay for school. Charlie agrees. In exchange for her company, Ellie must write in a notebook he provides.

Liz is disgruntled by Thomas' frequent visits and tells him that Charlie does not need saving. Liz reveals that she is the adopted daughter of New Life's head pastor and that Alan, Charlie's deceased lover whose death from suicide due to religious guilt caused Charlie to uncontrollably binge-eat, was her brother. Charlie never fully recovered from the loss. Despite Liz's objections, Thomas still believes his mission is to help Charlie.

Charlie's health begins to decline after almost choking on a sandwich, and Liz brings him a wheelchair to make it easier for him to move around his apartment. One day, Ellie secretly slips sleeping pills into another sandwich she makes for Charlie. After he falls asleep, Thomas arrives and Ellie begins to question him while smoking marijuana. After initially hesitating, Thomas admits he ran away from his family and old mission in Iowa after feeling unfulfilled and stealing all the money from the youth group. Ellie secretly records his confession on her phone.

Liz brings Mary, Charlie's ex-wife and Ellie's mother, to visit him and the truth about Ellie's secret meetings with her father is revealed. A heated exchange occurs where Charlie reveals he has $120,000 in his bank account. As Charlie had lied to her about not having money for healthcare, Liz angrily storms out, leaving Mary and Charlie alone to argue about the breakdown of their marriage and their failures as parents. As Mary leaves, Charlie tearfully admits he needs to know there is at least one thing he did right in his life.

Thomas visits Charlie one last time, informing him that he is moving back home after Ellie sent his confession to his former youth group and family. His family has dismissed the incident and is welcoming him home. Thomas attempts to proselytize Charlie, but is chastised after he blames Alan's death on his homosexuality. Charlie experiences a severe binge-eating episode after Dan glimpses him for the first time and sends out a profanity-laden email to his students asking them to write something honest. In his next class, Charlie reveals he's being replaced as their professor and reads some of their candid responses. To reciprocate their honesty, he switches on his webcam for the first time and ends the class by throwing his laptop against the fridge.

Feeling guilty for abandoning Charlie, Liz comforts him as Charlie nears death. Ellie storms into the apartment to confront him over his rewritten essay. Charlie reveals that he replaced her rewritten essay with a critical essay of ''Moby-Dick'' that she wrote in eighth grade as he considered it the most honest essay he's ever read. Ellie tearfully rebukes Charlie as he attempts to reconcile one final time. He asks her to read the essay to him. Ellie reads the essay as Charlie stands up and attempts to walk toward her, something he had tried but failed to do during Ellie's first visit. As Ellie completes the reading, they are engulfed by a great white light as they remember a visit to the beach as a family.

Cast

* Brendan Fraser as Charlie, an obese and reclusive English professor
* Sadie Sink as Ellie, Charlie's estranged teenage daughter
** Jacey Sink as young Ellie
* Hong Chau as Liz, a nurse and Charlie's best friend who takes care of him
* Ty Simpkins as Thomas, a Christian missionary
* Samantha Morton as Mary, Charlie's ex-wife and Ellie's mother
* Sathya Sridharan as Dan, a pizza delivery worker

Production

Aronofsky said he had been trying to get the film made for a decade, blocked by the casting of Charlie until he saw a trailer for ''Journey to the End of the Night'' on YouTube which starred Fraser, when it "clicked" for him to cast Fraser.

On January 11, 2021, it was announced that A24 had global distribution rights to ''The Whale'', which would be directed by Aronofsky and would star Fraser. In February 2021, Hong Chau, Sadie Sink and Samantha Morton joined the cast. The following month, Ty Simpkins joined the cast. Sathya Sridharan also joined the cast.

James Corden was at one point set to star in the film with Tom Ford directing, but Ford later left due to creative differences. George Clooney also briefly considered directing the film but ultimately passed on it.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 8 and wrapped on April 7, 2021 in Newburgh, New York. The film entered post-production the same month.

For the titular role, Fraser spent four hours each day in the makeup department getting fitted with prosthetics that weighed up to 300 lbs. He also worked with a dance instructor for months before filming to figure out how his character would move with the excess weight and consulted with the Obesity Action Coalition.

Music

On January 26, 2022, Rob Simonsen was revealed to be the film's composer.

Release

''The Whale'' had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2022, where it received a six-minute standing ovation. It made its North American premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022. The film was released in the United States on December 9, 2022, following with a Canadian release on December 21.

Reception

Box office

The film made $1.04 million in its third weekend (expanding from six theaters to 603) and $1.6 million over the four-day Christmas frame, then $1.4 million in its fourth weekend.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes reported that critics found ''The Whale'' an empathetic film carried by Fraser's performance. On the site, 66% of 248 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. Metacritic sampled 51 reviews and assessed 23 as positive, 21 as mixed, and 7 as negative. It gave the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

''The Whale'' received generally positive feedback at Toronto, with particular praise for Fraser's and Sink's performances. When the film had a limited theatrical release, ''Variety'' reported "Reviews... have been polarizing, with others han ''Variety''s reviewcriticizing the film's portrayal of fat people." Glenn Kenny of '' RogerEbert.com'' praised Aronofsky's direction and Fraser's performance, writing that the "story is one of different levels of heartbreak and human misunderstanding" and "Aronofsky and Fraser have taken substantive risks, in the name of an insistent empathy." Robbie Collin of ''The Daily Telegraph'', gave it a perfect five stars, stating: "Fraser seals his comeback in a sensational film of rare compassion."

In his review, ''Variety'' chief film critic Owen Gleiberman called Fraser "slyer, subtler, more haunting than he has ever been", adding that he gives an "intensely lived-in and touching performance". Matthew Creith of ''Out Front'' noted "The highlight of ''The Whale'' comes from an outstanding turn from Hong Chau, who gives a memorable performance in a vital role that balances Charlie's outlandish behavior." Hannah Strong of ''Little White Lies'' praised Fraser and the "strong ensemble", highlighting Sink's "tricky role" in which she "captures the anger and sadness that comes from parental abandonment", and stating that while Aronofsky "isn't a particularly empathetic filmmaker" and ''The Whale'' is not without flaws, the film "reflects tenderly on shame, guilt, and the human impulse to care and be cared for."

Richard Lawson of '' Vanity Fair'' wrote that the film "meant to be a poignant consideration of guilt, sexuality, religion, remorse" but "we really only know that because the movie shouts it at us." He also criticized Fraser's performance as "lost". Mark Hanson of ''Slant Magazine'' felt that Aronofsky reins in his "typically ostentatious style" but "considering how Libatique's camera leeringly treats Charlie as an unsightly object of pity throughout, it's difficult to deny the film's fatphobia, though its mawkishness is no less oppressive". Katie Rife of ''Polygon'' wrote "If you look at ''The Whale'' as a fable, its moral is that it’s the responsibility of the abused to love and forgive their abusers. The movie thinks it’s saying 'You don’t understand; he’s fat because he’s suffering.' But it ends up saying 'You don’t understand; we have to be cruel to fat people, because we are suffering.' Aronofsky and Hunter’s biblical metaphor aside, fat people didn’t volunteer to serve as repositories for society’s rage and contempt."

Portrayal of obesity

On the podcast ''Don't Let This Flop'', EJ Dickson said the film was met with criticism for its use of a prosthetic suit instead of casting an obese actor, with accusations that it "stigmatizes and mocks fat people". On NPR's culture section, Jaclyn Diaz reported that this criticism extends to detractors calling the film's premise "inherently dehumanizing".

Writing for ''The New York Times'', Roxane Gay expressed her opinion that the film's empathy was only superficial and that the depiction of Charlie reinforced anti-fat stereotypes and preconceptions. She writes "Mr. Aronofsky, said proudly that Charlie's story was told with empathy. He seemed to think he was being sincere, but I was bewildered because an empathetic portrayal isn't at all what was conveyed onscreen. As I looked around the audience, I was struck by the fact that there were only four or so fat people in the audience and none on the stage."

Accolades

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Whale (2022 film), The
2022 films
2022 drama films
2022 independent films
2022 LGBT-related films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
A24 (company) films
American drama films
American films based on plays
American independent films
American LGBT-related films
LGBT-related controversies in film
Casting controversies in film
Films about educators
Films about father–daughter relationships
Films about obesity
Films directed by Darren Aronofsky
Films produced by Darren Aronofsky
Films scored by Rob Simonsen
Films set in 2016
Films set in Idaho
Films shot in New York (state)
LGBT-related drama films
Protozoa Pictures films