The Whale

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/the-whale-spoiler-free-review-lff-2022

"The Whale earns its place in the "most tearful films of the year" list as it moves slowly yet efficiently towards its overwhelmingly emotional ending, especially elevated by the most subtly powerful & irrefutably moving performance of Brendan Fraser's career.

The rest of the cast contributes to the construction of a character with whom tremendous compassion is produced, but it isn't an easily digestible movie due to its disturbing, uncomfortable moments.

Darren Aronofsky presents a depressing, passionate, and, above all, brutally honest story about trauma, acceptance, and positivity. The filmmaker's lack of restraint may be a...

The Whale is a heart breaking story of our main character, Charlie (Brendon Fraser), as he tries to make amends for abandoning his daughter. Charlie is obese, an ailment that has manifested itself as a coping mechanism for a life of regret. In every scene and interaction this regret is worn by Charlie as a cloak of his past that will stay with him until his dying breath. This character is an immense undertaking and Brendon Fraser plays him perfectly. The emotion he delivers is palpable, which lends itself so seamlessly to scenes of raw sadness and despair. Not only is Fraser a highlight, but the entire supporting cast does an excellent job. Hong Chau is superb, and despite her tough, no nonsense, science focused exterior hides a deep and ge...

Yikes, but this second gay-themed outing for Brendan Fraser could hardly be more different from his 1998 "Gods and Monsters" one. Here his is the critically obese "Charlie" who has grown to a size where his health is in tatters and he has virtually no mobility as he regularly consumes two large pizzas for dinner and two great meatball subs for lunch. We learn quite quickly a little of what initially drove this man to this level of despair and as things begin to look terminal, we share his aspirations to reconcile with his daughter whom he left eight years earlier to be with his gay lover "Allan". Now for all I thought Fraser was superb in this film, I found Sadie Sink's performance as the truly selfish, conniving and odious daughter "Ellie"...

I doubt I can add much more to what has already been said about 'The Whale', but in a word: Bravo!

Brendan Fraser truly is sensational in this role. I heard about all the acclaim and seen a few of the standing ovations he has received and all I can say is that it is unequivocally deserved. Truly outstanding from the first scene (yes, even with that... ha) to the very last. It's great to see the dude that I first saw as a kid in '<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/george-of-the-jungle/">George of the Jungle</a>' well and truly back in the game.

One thing about Fraser getting all the (undoubtedly merited) plaudits from this Darren Aronofsky flick is that I didn't know what to expect from the support cast, and man are there some absolu...

I like this one. It really made me feel something.

write something honest

Any movie directed by Darren Aronofsky contains a lot of violent scenes that are unfamiliar and hard on the eyes to see. Darren Aronofsky is a director whose work must be eagerly awaited because one of his films, Requiem of Dream 2000, is one of my favorites.

The most important event in the movie The Whale is the star Brendan Fraser, after suffering from many health problems, especially with the spine, and was forced to perform surgeries, in addition to the withdrawal of lights and fame from him, and his playing movie roles that didn't achieve wide success.

Brendan Fraser played a terrible role that deserves an Academy Award due to his genius performance, and you do not expect this wonderful acting performanc...

By: Louisa Moore / www.ScreenZealots.com

This film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival

When thinking about The Whale, I feel its important to start at the end rather than the beginning because the melodramatic finale almost ruins everything thats good about the film. The finale is grossly manipulative, corny, excessive, and if what came before wasnt so great, it would diminish director Darren Aronofskys entire project. Thanks to a heartbreaking script (from writer Samuel D. Hunter) and a once-in-a-lifetime lead performance from Brendan Fraser, it takes little effort to overlook the films more negative aspects.

Based on Hunters 2012 play of the same name, the psychological drama tells the story of Charlie (...

At least partly because this movie was based on a play, most of the action takes place in one room. Of course, the nature of the characters health issues makes it hard for him to move around, but I think the limited setting worked against the film. Maybe it is just my eyes getting older, but the cinematography of The Whale seems to follow the current trend of being dark, dark, dark. Are they desperate to show the mood through lighting, were they trying to simulate the inside of a whales stomach, or is it less expensive to film in the gloomy interiors, or what? Would it kill them to turn on a light now and again?

Anyway, the movie tugs at the appropriate heartstrings and throws a curve here and there, and is an excellent work of drama noir.