The Whale
Year: 2022
Rating: R
Length: 117 minutes / 1.95 hours
Darren Aronofsky is the kind of director who makes movies that have moments that are hard to watch but you must see at least once. With his style established in such films as Pi (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000), he has continued with this over the decades with varying levels of intensity. The Whale (2022) is the latest film to conform to Aronofsky’s early directorial oeuvre. It’s a simple film—which happens when adapting a stage play—but with heart-wrenching depth. That it works so well in an on-screen format is a testament to Aronofsky’s talents.
Brendan Fraser’s performance of Charlie carries this film. There’s not a lot of representation of morbidly obese people, but Fraser makes it seem realistic. Granted, Aronofsky also makes it gross quite a few times, but that’s to be expected. That Charlie seems to always be in the frame, as if Aronofsky gravitationally locked the camera to him in the small space of his apartment, speaks to the genius of the directing. Each of the minor characters orbiting Charlie also have rich and complex lives, which merely adds depth to how they interact with a man who is literally eating himself to death.
Perhaps the reason I feel this film is so superb is how connected I was to the characters. After all, with the limited setting of a stage play, the strength of the narrative comes from who the people are. Everyone here has flaws, but they’re realistic enough to become invested in the twists and reveals as they happen. By the end, I just had to sit quietly so I could process everything I had just witnessed. It’s a heavily emotional film and—much like Aronofsky’s other movies—I still suggest everyone see it at least once.
Deeply moving and superbly directed, I give The Whale 5.0 stars out of 5.
