La baleine

See The Whale just to watch consummate actors, Branden Fraser and Sadie Sink, playing father and daughter, furiously catch up with each other after years of separation. Set in Charlie's apartment, just big enough for his morbidly huge body, The Whale is not only about the reconciliation of this odd couple and the survival of obese Charlie but rather about how obsession can consume faster than a greasy piece of pizza.

Besides his abuse of food, Charlie refuses to let the Zoomed-in students see him in his rolling flesh. Yet, he is not self-centered or food-obsessed enough not to care about others, especially his flinty daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink, so much like a young Ellen Page), for whom he writes college essays (he teaches writing) and saves for her over $100K. His heart is as big, well, as his body.

Writer Samuel D. Hunter (also author of the play) and director Darren Aronofsky move Charlie toward either reclamation or death; they remind us he did abandon normal life for a gay love, who eventually committed suicide, and over whom Charlie has not recovered. Good enough for Charlie to despair and abandon himself to food.

Ellie's finishing high school is Charlie's other obsession, and whether or not they all can survive their confrontation is the abiding suspense. Pervading the drama is a sense of regret in almost every character except maybe the pizza delivery boy, Dan (Sathya Sridharan). Even Charlie's ex, Mary (excellent Samantha Morton), suffers the sorrows of their split family.

Hong Chau, who has had a great year, if only for her role in Triangle of Sadness, plays the gritty Liz, a caretaker for Charlie and true friend, regretting Charlie's descent that allows no trips to the hospital and hides his money for his unstable daughter.

The itinerant Jesus fan, Thomas (Ty Simpkins), is food for another essay but for now an effective emblem of the intricate characters supporting Charlie's journey. Herman Melville lends figurative richness to the proceedings. If I haven't convinced you of the gold in this small film about a big man, go see it to witness my prediction that Fraser will win Globes and Oscar.

I got to screen this film for awards season purposes.

It was very hard not to cry during several scenes.

Branden Fraser is simply amazing. Under direction of Aronofsky it's probably the best dramatic film of the year.

Fraser portrays the role to perfection. You feel sorrow for his character. The lady from Stranger Things that plays his daughter he is trying to reconnect with is going to be a huge star.

There is nothing unlikable about this film. Fraser tugs at your heart strings with the struggles his character goes through.

It's almost hard to watch at certain points in film; I had to take several breaks it's very emotional.

Fraser is a very genuine guy in real life I have met him twice a decade apart and he was the same amazing guy.

I hope this film does very well and ushers back a long awaited revival for Mr Fraser in Hollywood.

Brilliant actor & film.

10/10.

I recomend this movie and authorize it as factual from my life standpoint. The doctors told me I only had 5 to 10 years left in me. It was suggested that Bariatric surgury is the only way things will change. Since December 27th, 2022, 6 months later, I am 220lbs. I have had diabetes. I no longer have diabetes since I changed my diet. I never knew how disgusting I was or how much food I ate in one day because the chemicals in the High Fructose Corn Syrup that soda contained were causing my addiction to drinking more soda. My house was filled with garbage on the ground, and I couldn't even wipe myself or turn around; I couldn't even fit in the car that well to drive.

I only drove my car to the doctor and had the groceries delivered. Watching these academy award winners on the big screen affected me emotionally because it reflected my life. It destroys me, showing my life from a different perspective. This is as real as it gets people; this exists, and this story has no fiction in it. My issues were PTSD, X's wife, and her taking my children away. My children are older now, and we are getting reconnected. I do not blame anyone else for my problems, only me. I cried when the Xwife wanted to hear his heart and lungs; that scene hit home and affected me in many ways. What about my daughter? Well, it's not been easy, she doesn't talk much to me, and I am only in her life when she needs something; like Fraiser, I saved up all the money for her.

Thank you for reading my review, The doctors now say that I might reach 90 now because of all the changes I made and hopefully I will witness a few grandchildren along the way. I am alive today because I made the choice to live. It was hard to make that choice because psychologically I didnt believe anything was wrong with me even though I was deathly ill. Makes me think.... Am I creating my own life simulation? AmI still deathly ill even though I am healthy again? How much do we take our lives for granted?

Darren Aronofsky surprised me with this film as he kept the characters and their reactions to circumstances as the center of what's happening on screen.

What was further surprising to me was the thorough nuance with which the film's sensitive themes are explored. Aronofsky is not a subtle filmmaker, but each of these characters is given such satisfying depth and is portrayed with their flawed perspectives and endearing desires on full display.

The film has no hero or villain. Everyone is made out to be both to an extent and it's heart-wrenching to come to know these people throughout the film and watch them seek redemption.

Some have criticised the screenplay as melodramatic-I didn't find this to be the case. I found it largely authentic, tragic, and full of intrigue that compounds as more information is revealed.

My only glaring issue with the film is that one of the characters starts out as complex and with a singular nature, only to have that completely altered, oversimplified, and abandoned in his final scene. It seemed to me that this was done for the sake of the desired themes but at the expense of the character.

But Brendan Fraser's performance alone marks this film as a colossal triumph, and there is much excellence to be seen throughout its entirety.

Imagine that there was complete silence in the hall for 2 minutes after the end of the movie (The Whale). You don't come across something like that very often. Brendan Frazer, directed by Darren Aronofsky, gave an incredible, amazing performance. When you watching this movie, you felt certain feelings at once. Such films don't happen often, but when they do, they change the cinema for the better. This psychological drama about guilt, loss, and trauma is one of the best films of this year. I hope it wins all the awards it will be nominated for, most importantly in the best actor category ( Brendan Frazer). He will probably win.