Director:
Darren AronofskyCámara:
Matthew LibatiqueMúsica:
Rob SimonsenReparto:
Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton, Sathya Sridharan, Huck MilnerStreaming (4)
Sinopsis(1)
La historia de un profesor de inglés solitario que vive con obesidad severa e intenta reconectar con su hija adolescente en una última oportunidad de redención. (YouPlanet Pictures)
Reseñas (14)
Una mezcla equilibrada de psicología íntima y sentimiento conmovedor. Intrigante, sobre todo, con el personaje principal que el cine nunca ha experimentado, cuya apariencia es impactante y cuyo interior disfrutamos estudiando. El excelente Brendan Fraser con un maquillaje increíble, acompañado de Sadie Sink que interpreta perfectamente a su hija. De su encuentro emanan emociones no expresadas, ira por el dolor por un lado y arrepentimiento por el otro. Sí, el personaje de Fraser es demasiado autocompasivo, y su descubrimiento de la importancia de la honestidad en la vida es ridículo, pero aun así, La ballena (The Whale) sigue siendo una película agradable y sensible, que no carece de la contribución artística del autor.
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En términos de sentimentalismo y lloriqueo, Darren Aronofsky lo lleva aquí a extremos absurdos, y aunque no siento que se deslice nunca hacia el terreno del chantaje emocional, imagino que muchos espectadores tendrán un gran problema con esto. Yo lo superé, sobre todo gracias a la actuación casi hipnótica del protagonista. Bueno, si hay algo en esta película por lo que realmente debe ser destacada y recordada, es por Brendan Fraser. Este actor se entregó más del cien por cien a su trabajo aquí y en su interpretación se basa toda la película. También me agradó ver que Aronofsky apostó por un tema más civil, íntimo y directo y no fue tan pretencioso como suele ser. Podría haber reducido un poco el lagrimeo, pero para mí es sin duda un morboso y gordo pulgar hacia arriba. [Vancouver International Film Festival 2022]
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Knowing Darren Aronofsky is directing, you can expect pure human suffering. This film is emotionally intense but impossible to watch without being completely absorbed from the start. Brendan Fraser is nearly unrecognizable and delivers a performance that's nothing short of divine. The Whale is a prime example of a film designed to wring every emotion out of you. When a movie can do that, you're guaranteed an unforgettable experience.
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An acting masterclass combined with a masterclass in unnecessary directorial manipulation. If Darren had reined in his desire to drag the viewer into a fit of transcendent emotion and had carried the film through to the end as an intimate story about a human mass of guilt and loneliness, it might have had the punch that he last achieved in The Wrestler. Unfortunately, however, this is how the redemption of a self-destructive man becomes more distant the more the director tries to make it poignant. Fraser, on the other hand, deserves maximum respect, as he account for all of the humor and humanism in this dubious dramatic cetacean.
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If this were a raw last confession of a lost human soul without any pretensions and all sorts of gimmicks, it would be an absolute blast. The Whale shouldn't have been made by the master of allegories, Aronofsky, who combines uncompromising depression with religious motifs, art literature, and strange human creatures that might not be there at all – I was just waiting for parallel universes and other dimensions to appear. Two stars for the phenomenal Brendan Fraser and the moments when the film is exactly the coherent genre composition it should be for the entire runtime and not just a few fragments.
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In my opinion, The Whale is Aronofsky's second best film, after The Fountain. It isn’t nasty like Requiem for a Dream, nor is it bloated like Black Swan or weepy and formulaic like Wrestler (although it has a lot in common with the latter), but this time it just worked. Although the story doesn't really surprise with anything, it's so well written (you can see the theatrical backbone), acted (Brendan Fraser is brilliant, I'm rooting for him) and filmed (we practically don't leave the apartment, but it doesn't matter) that my cautious curiosity turned into enthusiasm pretty quickly. But I must also praise Sadie Sink and Hong Chau, without whom Charlie would not be Charlie, and I must not forget Simonsen's music. I was originally going to give it four stars, but after a couple of days my reservations melted away under the weight (ahem) of all the unexpectedly positive things the film brought.
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After not very well received film Mother! and five long years, the master of depressing and oppressive dramas is back, and he's still on form thanks to (his thematic favourite) God. Within Darren Aronofsky's filmography, The Whale is probably closest to The Wrestler in its somewhat restrained approach by the director's standards, as it also tells the story of the bitter life of a man at the end of his rope who has a problematic relationship with his daughter. In terms of premise, The Whale is not an inherently complex film, but it mixes in some interesting themes and moments that leave the viewer engaged with the action on screen. The lion's share of all this is of course (literally, given the fat-suit) the breathtaking performance of Brendan Fraser. I always had reservations about him, but here he proved his acting qualities to perfection as Charlie. He was ably seconded by all the supporting characters played by Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, as well as Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton. While the film kept pretty much to the ground (or was it Earth?) (thanks to Charlie's mass, and not just Charlie), there were more than a few places where Aranofsky poked fun at his favorite Creator, but not in an underhanded or purposeless way. The Whale, like Charlie, may be naive and overly positive in places, but it also manages to convey the message that people can be amazing if they have support and are honest with themselves in an authentic and not aggressively weepy way.
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Who would have expected such drama from the combination of A24 and Darren Aronofsky? Until a few months ago, probably no one. But the result is superior art that is more or less unparalleled in modern cinema. On the one hand, very sensitive, on the other hand, a depressing, gloomy, dark and almost artistically poetic drama and a devastating collision with reality that at times makes you feel physically sick. Brendan Fraser has always been a mediocre lead actor, but here it's purely his one man show and the role of a lifetime that will be remembered from this day forward and after which he will be referred to as "that actor from The Whale", because such an iconic role will go down in history and be celebrated for a long time to come. Character-wise polished, actor-wise perfect and director-wise masterful, in short, it's clear that everyone here has a perfect sense of scene and can create unexpectedly intense atmosphere and feelings of tension within an "ordinary" drama. I didn't believe that The Whale could be that good a film, but now I know that all the recent awards and titles it has won are simply rightful.
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It makes me happy whenever a movie draws me in so perfectly that I forget it's just a movie. And this one did it extremely well. I know Brendan Fraser as more of a comedic actor, but he convinced me that he deserves an award for his performance here. I consider the Oscars highly politically influenced, but if it makes anyone happy, let it be Brendan Fraser. Fans of more action-packed spectacles might not enjoy this film, but I really immersed myself in the story and enjoyed watching the protagonist whose suicide was agonizingly slow, as well as all the secondary, undernourished characters. I really enjoyed the character of Liz, who was smaller in size but 10 feet tall at heart, and Sadie Sink as the bitchy Ellie. Despite being profound, the film did not dissolve into boring philosophizing about the transience of human life. On the contrary, the creators spiced it up with a pizza night that turned into an evening with Mr. Creosote, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't help but notice that the Heimlich maneuver has evolved, and I'm glad that there was space for occasional flashes of subtle humor. / "You say you're sorry one more time, I will shove a knife right into you, I swear to god!" "Go ahead, what's it gonna do? My internal organs are two feet in, at least." / Lesson learned: If you decide to commit suicide, be aware that some methods are time-consuming and financially demanding. 5*-
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Obesity and bulimia are issues that have not been addressed much by Hollywood, so I applaud the fact that this substantial rarity does not downplay the issue, nor does it revel in it. By Aronofsky's standards, it is a fairly normal story that is unexpectedly friendly to the audience whose feelings he likes to play with. Towards the end, however, he mines emotions in an outrageous way, and as a result all previous believability is taken away. It's disappointing, but not enough to obscure the most important thing, Brendan Fraser is back at full force after all these years, and if anyone deserves countless accolades for this feat in the coming months, it's him.
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I dare say that this dense and intense human drama with well-drawn characters is definitely one of the best movies that directorial magician Darren Aronofsky has made so far. In my opinion, it has a lot to say about contemporary interpersonal relations. On the surface, it may seem like a simple story about a stout man overeating, but I personally think that The Whale reflects the state of today's Western society in a very artful and sad way. Aronofsky's movie requires greater sensitivity and patience, but it richly rewards the audience with psychological depth and truthfulness. If you accept the plot without preconceptions and let it wash over you, you will experience a stronger catharsis at the end. I would never have dreamed that I would ever wish Brendan Fraser an Oscar, but he really deserves it for his utterly convincing portrayal of the morbidly obese good guy Charlie. But the list of great performances certainly doesn't end there. Sadie Sink is also excellent as the rebellious daughter Ellie, and Hong Chau as Charlie's caring friend is also very interesting. (90%)
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It's been a long time since a film managed to evoke so much sadness, regret and compassion in me, and it's all the more surprising that it was Darren Aronofsky who did it. I know he's a highly respected director, but his films are not among my favorites, and I don't feel the need to revisit them (except for Requiem for a Dream). This film probably won't be an exception, but it definitely appealed to me more than his previous works. Apart from the very captivating music, the film stands mainly on Brendan Fraser's performance, which is incredible; considering how he pulls everything together with his voice, his face, his facial expressions, his eyes – the performance was incredible. Sadie Sink is undoubtedly a talented young actress, but unfortunately I didn't like her character. Of course, I understand where her anger, resentment, bitterness, maybe even hatred stems from, but I couldn't find my way to her. She was evil from start to finish, and the hint of reconciliation in the last second of the film wasn't enough to mollify me. Nevertheless, this is an interesting and novel piece of work, and one that emotionally swayed me quite a bit.
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Darren Aronofsky is one of the few directors who can evoke such strong emotions in me while watching films. In Mother! it was primarily anxiety, in Whale it is a mix of shame, disgust and sadness, injustice or regret. The film is intimate, we practically watch only few actors, and the entire plot takes place in essentially one location. Brendan Fraser absolutely dominates the film, his character is believable and I can sympathize with him. The atmosphere and emotional tension builds gradually until the final scene, which, in my opinion, is neither over the top nor does it try to be unnecessarily emotionally blackmailing. A difficult film that left an impression on me and had me thinking about it long after I had finished watching it.
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