The Whale (2022)
A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Darren Aronofsky
Written By: Samuel D. Hunter
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Samantha Morton, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, Sadie Sink, Sathya Sridharan
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
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The Whale belongs to 10 collections
1. Oscar: Best Actor (collaborative: moderated by kangadoodoo - 10 stars)
2. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)
3. Divicast: Movies, TV shows and episodes watched (public: Dunstan-xxx)
4. Available on Divicast (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
5. The Critical Drinker: The Drinker Recommends... (public: BeeDub)
6. 80th Golden Globe Nominees (2022) (collaborative: moderated by elhenzo)
7. 2023 (public: sproost)
8. Oscar Nominations 2023 (public: BeeDub - 7 stars)
9. Oscar Nominations 2023, Major Categories (public: gdfthr337)
10. February 2023 (public: Parham12Iraj)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 10 |  |
Paxton | 69 57th |
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My friend saw Jaws while floating in a lake. There's an outpost in Antarctica that forces newcomers to watch The Thing on their first night. Edgar Wright talked about watching The Evil Dead in a cemetery. Me? I ordered food and had it brought to me at a screening of The Whale. I am become legend.
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| 7 |  |
deaddilly | 55 19th |
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For a film with a central ethos about the importance of expressing truth, "The Whale" really seemed to have a lot of synthetic drama designed to push it along. Most notably the entire church-boy/daughter subplot which, intentionally or not, was the funniest comedic relief of any movie I've seen in 2022. Overall, a strangely flat outing for Aronofsky despite a commanding lead performance.
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| 5 |  |
AAAutin | 50 47th |
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(MOPEY DICK)
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| 5 |  |
guy piranha | 65 53rd |
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Fraser really chews the scenery. What?
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| 4 |  |
Kuroel | 90 98th |
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As a person facing many of the same issues of feeling absolute no self-worth as Fraser's protagonist in The Whale, I felt this movie on every conceivable personal level. I'm happy for fellow critickers who saw this only as a "boohoo sad flick" and soon forgot about. For me, this movie has resonated more than most of the cinema in the last decade. And I don't think there are many who could have brought the kindness and un-bitterness to the lead as Frasier did. Brava!
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| 3 |  |
Bown | 58 11th |
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What if King-Size Homer was like, really sad? A powerhouse performance from Fraser and great supporting turns can’t save this movie from sloppy, overwritten dialogue and a blaring BE SAD NOW score. But I could get over all that if not for the ending which, for all the writer’s claims of making a story about connection, is intensely fatphobic and misanthropic. Sometimes Aronofsky’s lack of subtlety serves the material - here, it creates a mess. Some funny bits, though.
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| 3 | ericambler | 44 11th |
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Brendan Fraser, we all know, is a mensch and it's nice to see him get his flowers. (And while we're at it, let's give Hong Chau hers as well.) But this is an unrelentingly cruel film--which is the point, I know, but it comes across as exploitation when every emotional beat is screamed at the top of one's lungs, or clumsily suggested by the horror score underpinning Charlie's trips to the fridge.
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| 3 |  |
Yiannos | 48 19th |
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The Wrestler with a fat man, only with a much less compelling lead and worse writing. The script is especially a problem here as it's essentially a chamber piece that requires more depth and complexity in character and dialogue to sustain interest. Fraser and Chau are quite good within certain limits, but Morton is terrible, and the bitchiness of the daughter is absurdly contrived. Overall, a waste of time for all involved.
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| 3 |  |
rihrey | 45 46th |
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Wow, this was certainly underwhelming. Darren Aronofsky is pretty much my favorite director, so I was definitely expecting more. The script and dialogues were very shallow, there's a ton of cheap sentimentality, and the shots weren't particularly inspired. It's an overall mediocre movie.
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| 2 |  |
Mentaculus | 63 38th |
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Aronofsky’s scenarios have always been exaggerated, hyperbolic slow cookers meant to boil the humanity from his characters, but more recently, they have become more tangible, smaller, isolated, creating a frisson between mythic and mundane that might be inconsolable precisely because he says they’re the same. I thought Aranosfky couldn’t get more Gnostic but the self-immolation of Fraser as Charlie slitting his throat by meatball sub may be the greatest example and indictment of his creativity.
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| 2 |  |
psim | 82 82nd |
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I'm not going to debate anyone who finds this film uncomfortable or in the realm of misery porn, but for me it stayed clear of that and mostly highlights the humanity in its characters and their relationships.
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| 2 |  |
krf7 | 30 13th |
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An interminable and excruciating 2 hours. I despised this movie, and loathed every single character. It was predictable and cliche; it could have been 15 minutes long if that's all the movie had to say. Plus, the plot revolved around the ludicrous contrivance that multiple people over many days did not have the compassion to call 911 and save the man's life.
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| 2 |  |
Leonardis | 87 55th |
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I thought it was quite good. Some of the stuff around the obesity element is questionable at best, but I doubt it was meant to coke off as an insensitive movie, rather or not it does at times. The protagonist is well written though, with a stellar Brendan Fraser in the lead. Chau was amazing and the supporting cast is only a little behind her and Fraser. I really dug the cinematography and most of the way it was shot. A weaker Aronofsky movie, but still quite good in my opinion.
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| 2 |  |
Gnalkhere | 15 1st |
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What I'll say about this Arthouse Simple Jack is that it demonstrates the versatility of the Sony Venice, but that's all the praise I have for the film itself. Much love to Brendan Fraser but this shouldn't have been what kicked off his renaissance.
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| 2 |  |
JLFM | 31 5th |
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The worst final scene of any 2022 release I’ve watched. There’s a place for tear-jerking cinema, but I have absolutely no patience or tolerance for something so nakedly cloying as to make every character behave in ways dictated by the film’s desired emotional response rather than any kind of organic development. Thar she blows.
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| 2 |  |
capodelnulla | 45 16th |
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based on his filmography, i do wonder what kind of addiction problem aronofsky's been having because he keeps returning to the same human dynamics without making them more interesting (and even failing to preserve what made his earlier films compelling). thankfully, the film's constant failure to say something "profound" doesn't hurt, but amplifies fraser's delicate performance (the contrast b/w script's overblown self-importance and fraser's calm and poignant acting).
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| 1 |  |
Ofterdingen | 55 41st |
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The kind of film where dramatic music kicks in when the protagonist eats candy bars in a disgusting, violent manner. While I like the Moby Dick references everything is way too blunt and simple. The overall acting is also pretty weak, Hong Chau excepted.
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| 1 |  |
INDYATMN | 75 41st |
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Questions about the Far Left values this perpetuates: 1. If a hetero male leaves his wife & child for a younger female student & worships her so much he can't function w/out her, is that love pure? Or does this idealized love only apply to gays? 2. Is someone who helps the dangerously obese kill themselves w/ food really a good friend? How so? 3. Why is it ok to present delusional faith in religion as a negative while presenting delusional faith in your demonstrably godawful teen as wonderful?
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| 1 |  |
hologram | 85 59th |
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"I don't believe that anybody can save anybody", cf. Jacob's Ladder "But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."
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| 1 |  |
karlson | 65 30th |
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As a humble fan of DA, i tried my best to like this, but i couldn't do it. Charly is a true, tragic figure and his suicide-by-groceries is credibly done. But what's with all these characters that swarm around him, their theatrical dialogues, their tense monologues, their repeated hesitation in the doorway, their uninteresting subplots? It just doesn't mingle. Maybe it's some kind of pastiche that I'm not able to get yet - with DA, i'm open to anything. For now, I salute and go on.
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| 1 |  |
Seethruskin | 4 52nd |
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I mean it’s not not The Wrestler. Treading familiar ground for sure with an added commentary/grappling with religion which he seems to be doing with his last couple movies.
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| 1 |  |
Calabria | 76 39th |
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Classic Aronofsky cinematic chamber pop. I guess it can trigger anyone with an estranged daughter since it hits all those tropes and thats really all it does.
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| 1 |  |
amazedemon | 67 75th |
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The Whale is cinematic theatre; not only due to the single location set, staging & movement, but more so the way in which the characters (quite shitty people) are written & act. In fact this film is slightly reminiscent of Osborne's Look Back in Anger. The film dips into melodrama, but strong performances from the cast (particularly Fraser, Sink & Chau) keep it grounded & engrossing, allowing more focus on the themes of religion, redemption & salvation. Aronofsky's restraint in style helped.
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| 1 | mrci | 54 36th |
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Great performances couldn't save shallow script and dialogues. Worst movie made by Aronofsky.
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| 1 |  |
ADragon91 | 70 68th |
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Good Drama that you can tell was adapted from a play. Brendan Fraser is decent in it as well as the others, but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel sorry for his character. Most of the characters are kind of unlikeable in it too (yeah I know that’s kind of the point to some of them), but for the most part the emotional beats work and it has a pretty decent musical score to it.
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| 1 |  |
Jasongirl67 | 100 94th |
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I didn’t want to know anything
going into this movie I knew it was going to be a gut punch for me
But I didn’t expect it hit as hard as it did
It doesn’t feel like I’m watching a movie
The characters feel very real and human
Full of anger regret and pain
Each dealing with their own issues
Brendan Fraser definitely earned his Oscar
But honestly I loved all of the characters and what they brought to their respective roles
I don’t mind telling you I was choking up at the end
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| 1 |  |
YSinc | 79 90th |
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+++acting
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| 1 |  |
UserX | 69 64th |
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This divisive film repeatedly shifts between stark realism & melodramatic sensationalism while simultaneously teetering between empathy & exploitation. Adapted from a play, it's more theater than traditional film. Set in one location, most plot revelations occur via direct dialogue. Frasier's performance is the heart of the film, & he may seem overly intense, scenery-chewing, or lost & grasping at times, but that's essentially the extreme mental space in which this character has become trapped.
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| Average Percentile 54.69% from 727 Ratings |  |