Reactions: Not what I expected, Poignant
Where to watch: Netflix

I’ve been putting off watching The Whale for at least a year. It has been on “My list” forever. But every time I’ve seen it sitting there on my watch list, I think to myself, “That’s probably too depressing for how I feel right now,” and then I moved onto to something else. But this weekend, I sat down much earlier than usual, at 7pm, and thought, “I’m prepared for something depressing because I can always watch something more upbeat afterwards.”

And I’m really glad I finally watched this movie, mostly because it’s not at all what I expected. Sure, it’s really depressing. But it’s also full of characters that you come to care deeply about. The entire movie takes place in the apartment of Charlie, a young, 600-pound man who teaches online courses and has all but retreated from society and given up on his own health. During the movie, we learn about the trauma that led to his dire health situation, and we get introduced to a cast of characters that come into his life over the course of one week.

Brendan Fraser freaking killed it. He absolutely deserved the Academy Award, Critic’s Choice Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for best actor. The way he was able to weave together the rich tapestry of guilt, optimism, love, trauma, and physical pain that the actor constantly juggles, was nothing short of, well, award-winning.

The other most prominent character is Charlie’s daughter played by Sadie Sink, who you might best recognize as the red headed friend in Stranger Things. I never really understood her character’s journey from anger and hatred to compassion. But perhaps that’s because her character mostly serves as a device for us to see Brendan Fraser feel love and process his regret.

The character who gets so little screen time but is incredibly powerful is Charlie’s wife Mary, played by Samantha Morton. Mary has one prominent scene and I loved it – probably my favorite scene in the whole movie.

The Whale is another A24 production. And damn, they sure do churn out some big, meaningful movies like: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Midnight, Lady Bird, Minari, Ex Machina, The Lobster, just to list a few of the ones I’ve seen. I know there are many, many more.

I recommend The Whale, but with the caveat that it’s very sad. It is a Daron Aronofsky film, after all, and those don’t usually leave you feeling upbeat afterwards (Mother, Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, etc.).