‘The Whale Movie Review: Darren Aronofskys Weepy Drama Rings Insincere
Director Darren Aronofsky knows his way around dark dramatic storytelling and how to create characters that captivate the viewer. Unfortunately, "The Whale" is very different from his significant previous works, such as "Mother!" And a black swan . Brendan Fraser, Hong Chow, and Sadie Sink put their heart into this feature film, but Samuel D. Hunter's source material and execution of the adaptation in a different medium are the film's biggest weaknesses.
Keith is about a father trying to reunite his daughter
Charlie (Fraser) works as a remote English teacher, but hides behind a computer screen, preventing his students from seeing who he really is. He's a 600-pound man whose depression has driven him into solitary confinement after the death of his lover, and now he only sees his best friend and nurse Liz (Chow).
He admits that he is nearing the end of his life and will come to terms with it. So he wants to reunite with his teenage daughter Ellie (Sink), whom he left with his wife Mary (Samantha Morton) for another man. However, the situation becomes more complicated as the connection continues.
A story of pain, love and the search for meaning
Charlie's online course at The Whale sets the tone for a shy person cut off from the world. Avoid human contact at all costs, paying the price of society's cruelty and condemnation. Charlie takes Ellie's arrival as a gift, even if he carries much of that wildness with him. Although her entire life has been confined to her small apartment, she faces her own horrors that make activities like viewing pornography or trying to enter another room life-threatening.
Charlie searches for meaning in everything, desperate to find life for those around him, including essays written by his students. Also, she searches for him with Liz, Ellie and a devoted young man named Thomas (Ty Simpkins) who she believes can save him. In the process, everyone around Charlie also tries to find their own meaning in life, which ultimately leads to a man, for better or for worse.
The Hunter's script constantly weaves the theme of usefulness and helplessness throughout the story. All these characters try to help each other in different ways, both morally and physically. However, "The Whale" leads the audience to believe that helping can do more harm than good. However, it says a lot about the human condition when it comes to altruism, or lack thereof. This small group of characters bring their own biases, bouncing them off each other's personal dilemmas that run deeper than any of them imply.
Lapolina emphasizes the importance of the written word. Charlie repeats verbatim an article he learned from the past and gives him a sense of peace in the darkest moments of his suffering. Thomas tries to implement this concept of peace throughout the Bible. Religion and faith play an important role, but not always at the same time. Hunter wonders if these remedies can save a man or at least soothe his soul.
"The exaggeration of the image of Pisces borders on parody.
Aronofsky destroys Keith . It is based on Hunter's 2012 play of the same name and is very similar to the film adaptation. Matthew Lipatek's cinematography brings pure claustrophobia to a colorless palette, allowing the performances to come to life on screen. Frasier gives it his all as Charlie, but Chow steals the show as Liz. Unfortunately, this is where the positive reviews end.
Keith presents a heavy plate with a big bucket of fried chicken as the most obvious and toxic representation of being overweight. The theme of consumerism plays on both ends of the spectrum in a way that feels clever and manipulative to the point of being offensive. Rob Simonsen's music is based on the imagery of Charlie used in scenes that haunt the character but ultimately overshadow him.
Charlie's story is filled with violence and despair, but has no depth beyond his pain. Despite some stories about her happiness with her deceased partner, there was nothing joyful in the past either. Charlie continues to try to see the best in people, even though Ellie has lost all faith in humanity after being abandoned by her father. However, Aronofsky leaves the viewer with nothing to do, making these characters feel fully developed and telling us to take his word for it.
Keith seeks a greater truth, but does not question his preaching message. The Hunter resorts to weird attempts at humor that just don't work, while some of the film's most important emotional moments are overwhelmed with drama to the point of parody.
The material deceives the audience with a distorted onslaught of excessive, gratuitous brutality. She hits on the low-hanging fruit, unable to do anything compelling with the ideas she presents as she blithely tugs at the heartstrings as hard as she can. But he lacks the caution to justify the necessary emotional changes. Keith is desperate for sincerity, hoping to evoke sympathy when he can't find it even with his main character.
Keith hits theaters on December 9.
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