The Whale - Darren Aronofsky
You will be drawn into the utter slovenliness of his life. Impressive and very off-putting.
It’s just depressing and doesn’t say much. The performances are good but the material is droll.
We follow the final days of Charlie’s (Brendan Fraser (Crash, The Mummy), life after he is reunited with his daughter. Charlie is extremely overweight and we are introduced to the danger he is in when he almost dies from a heart attack while masturbating.
He has a nurse friend, Liz (Hong Chau (Inherent Vice, Asteroid City), who seems to have a very strange relationship with him. She cares but brings him the food that is killing him.
We get the back story about why Charlie is doing this to himself through his and Liz’s interactions with a door-to-door faith peddler from ‘New Life’.
Charlie’s ex-partner and family were from New Life and he killed himself because of the religion’s views on homosexuality.
Liz is brutal with the guy but he bonds with Charlie’s estranged daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink (Stranger Things, The Americans). This novel way of storytelling through secondary characters is interesting.
There is a re-occurring motif in a book review of Moby Dick. We first hear it early on but it is read several times. It is simplistic but Charlie is right – it nails the character of Ahab.
Charlie uses the story throughout the film. It calms him down when he is having a cardiac episode. He uses it to try and teach his online class about being honest about their opinions about the subject matter.
Charlie’s relationship with food is tragic and we go on the full roller coaster with him. We are disgusted by the volume of the greasy food but are also enticed to want it.
I found it very disturbing to find that I was craving all the food pictured in the film after watching it – despite never eating things like that and not being hungry. This is impressive filmmaking.
Charlie sees his only role in life is to earn now enough money to leave to Ellie who he left with his wife to be with his new partner.
When Ellie arrives he is open about desperately wanting to spend time with her – because he knows it is near the end.
Charlie’s relationships with everyone are troubled and difficult. Liz resents him because of what he is doing to himself. Even more so when she finds out he can afford medical treatment.
In the end, Charlie finally convinces Ellie that she has some worth – how long this feeling will continue is questionable. She reads out the Moby Dick review – which is hers – and he dies.
