I feel torn when it comes to The Whale, because there are parts of it that I think are really well done and other parts that miss the mark. It suffers when it comes to writing and pacing, and isn't quite as visually dynamic or cohesive as most of Darren Aronofsky's films, but succeeds when it comes to acting (and parts of it are moving, at least during the scenes that are well-written).
Brendan Fraser's great of course, and it's worth watching the movie for him. If he wins the Oscar for his performance, I think it'll feel like a deserved win. He does more than just letting the prosthetics and special effects do the work for him, and when it comes to the things he has to do physically and emotionally, he's remarkable.
Elsewhere, Hong Chau and Sadie Sink are both very good, but I do question the writing of the latter's character. I also didn't think the characters of Thomas and Charlie's ex-wife were very consistently written or interesting at all, but would blame that more on the writing than the performances of their actors. I'm not sure anyone could make them feel like real people with the material here. Sink's character also feels like a caricature, but she does well considering what she's given.
It's all a bit boring visually (even by the standards of one-location movies), and I didn't love the pacing (even if it builds to an ending that's solid). I mean, some things also felt telegraphed and on-the-nose a little too much- I just didn't really think this was well-written or paced, and lacked the visual oomph of Aronofsky's other movies.
But Fraser's great, as are the other actors, and it's unique and emotional in parts. I can see some loving this and some hating it. I really liked parts, and wasn't crazy about other parts, but still feel like it ends up being decent overall.
