Two words - Brendan Fraser. He was born to play Charlie and his Oscar award is extremely well deserved. While the audience can't help being somewhat disgusted by Charlie's outward appearance, they are drawn to his inner sensitivity and strength, offering others to look beneath the surface to the pain and anguish he lives with and tries to destroy by eating his feelings.

This is the very paradigm of a so-called "actors' piece", and the performances in the film are its ultimate calling card. Hunter's screenplay isFraser brings a tender quality to Charlie along with the character’s self-destructive inclination, indelibly illustrated when he gorges on food—his way of hastening his demise. Wearing elaborate body and facial prosthetics, Fraser makes Charlie a real person rather than a circus freak. Deeply flawed, he nonetheless is optimistic, not for his own future but for the futures of Ellie and his students. This quality prevents the character from being nothing but a huge mass of self-pity. There is a sadness in Fraser’s performance, a self-deprecation, and even a dark sense of humor, most evident in his verbal sparring with Liz. shake their head in wonderment at the thought of actors deliberately putting on pounds to essay a role, and while Fraser benefited from accept the kind of dreary visual style Aronofsky brings to the enterprise. The longer making of supplement is also very well done. With caveats noted, I am not being ironic as I write, so please don't get me wrong, but... why is it SO IMPORTANT to have a movie in a 4K edition, as opposed to a Blu-Ray edition. I mean, and no offense, but shouldn't be glad there IS a movie available to watch in physical media? I understand the beauty (or the excess of 4K) but honest to goodness, to despise a release (the quality of the film nonwithstanding: I couldn't stand this one, but I must recognize it's top-tier leading performance) just because it is not in a format, is beyond me. I don't own a 4K player, nor am I interested (I own a 4k screen, though), I am personally more interested in the story I am being shown and how it is being shown to me. is a little wobbly at times. The ultimate connection between Charlie, Liz and Charlie's male partner is at the crux of a lot of the emotion of the film,

Simpkins), a "door to door" missionary who is perhaps surprisingly (given this film's Idaho locale) not a Mormon, though semi-hilariouslyThe 95th Academy Awards are scheduled to air in just a few hours as this review is being published, and many online data aggregators more or less Ellie, whom he more or less abandoned when she was a little girl after Charlie left his ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton) for a (male) student of his. actor taken both during production and after, he did in fact "help" things along with a bit of his own "padding", which one assumes is now going to A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption. (less) Ultimately, though, the film belongs to Fraser, and my personal hunch is he will indeed prevail at the Academy Awards festivities which are

I want this so bad, but this is shot at 6K and finished at 4K, and I know Criterion or someone is going to drop a 4K disc soon. Pass on the standard Blu. cinematographer Matthew Libatique discuss some of the challenges in shooting in a small, cloistered space while at the same trying to keep thingsThe Whale is not an easy movie to watch but it is poignant and eye-opening which leaves the audience touched and uncomfortable all at once. The ending also leaves much to be desired. Yeah, it’s not as big a jump as from DVD to Blu, but you sound like someone who was defending DVD’s 13 years ago. The Whale touches on parental responsibility, sexuality, religious homophobia, and the value of life. Fraser turns in a compelling performance, bringing sincerity, gentleness, and candidness to Charlie. The film is more a character study than a typical narrative, its origins as a play evident in the limited location and dramatic entrances and exits. The screenplay avoids simple soap opera, with well-written dialogue, atypical central character, and first-rate direction. Charlie sees only one person, his friend Liz (Hong Chau), a nurse who visits him often and does as much for his health as he will allow. Recognizing how badly his health has deteriorated, Liz urges him to go to the hospital but he refuses. Knowing death is near, he wants only one thing before he dies—to mend the broken relationship with his daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink), whom he was forced to abandon when his marriage ended because he loved another man. A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Confronting the past and all the mistakes that come with making decisions along the way is what Charlie is faced with in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale. Dealing with grief, loss, and empathy for others are the key ingredients that make TheWhale swim beautifully. With a claustrophobic setting, some amazing camerawork, and the best performance of the year from the legendary (and now Oscar-winner) Brendan Fraser, The Whale is one of the sweetest and most emotional movies of the year. The personal relationships in the film, especially those between Charlie and Liz and Charlie and Ellie, often ring true, even if the overall context here channels convincingly, and a number of ambient environmental effects, like the flutter of wings of a bird Charlie feeds from an apartment window, help have come off courtesy of some strict dieting. Fraser's performance, along with those of Hong Chau (also Oscar nominated for this performance) andConfronting the past and all the mistakes that come with making decisions along the way is what Charlie is faced with in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale. Dealing with grief, loss, and empathy for others are the key ingredients that make The Whale swim beautifully. With a claustrophobic setting, some amazing camerawork, and the best performance of the year from the legendary Brendan Fraser, The Whale is one of the sweetest and most emotional movies of the year. Highest Recommendation!