Whale explores the pressured existence of soul searching artist, Cameron, played by director Amir Motlagh, who returns home and stumbles upon what's been missing - the nostalgic comfort of once familiar things. In going back, Cameron triggers his creative voice but it's not a battle easily won. His poetic inner dialogue and conversations with friends remind us of the burden of his dream, and with it, the fear of failing and disappointing those who matter most. Where some films force us to look deeper inside ourselves by birthing a story inside a story, or a play within a play, Whale's ambiguous blur and blend of fiction and documentary create a universe in which were brought uncomfortably close to our own reflection. When Cameron's best friend, Darren, is caught off guard by a train that roars into frame and drowns his words, he breaks character, smirks, and screams his line in competition with the train's engine, "I don't want a 9-5!!!!". Through Motlagh's choice to keep a moment in which the production of art is spontaneously forced to compete with the unpredictable force of life, he reminds us that art and life don't exist without the other. Motlagh cradles Whale along this delicate edge while pushing Cameron feet first into his past and present and the thoughts between. In the end, Whale is a raw film that embraces the honesty of a moment and believes so much in itself that it leaves you inspired and touched. I highly recommend this film, especially to struggling artists who aren't looking for a hand to hold, but for the reminder that life and its moments are the greatest driving force of art, and happiness.
