by Flack » Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:23 am
The Whale tells the story of Charlie, a morbidly obese man whose small world is limited to his upstairs apartment. Other than daily visits from his caregiver, Liz, Charlie's only human interaction comes from the students of his English comp class, which he teaches remotely using Zoom/ Fearing what his students might think of his appearance, Charlie's webcam is perpetually "broken."
One morning, Charlie receives an unsolicited visit from Thomas, a young member of the New Life church who is spreading the gospel one door knock at a time. Through Thomas and Liz, Charlie's history is revealed. Once a married man with a young daughter, Charlie began having an affair with one of his male students, a man he eventually left his family for. As a result of his actions, Charlie was legally prevented from contacting his then 8YO daughter. Worse (?) is the fact that Charlie's partner ultimately took his own life, leaving Charlie where we find him today -- alone save for Liz, his online students, and a never-ending supply of food that is slowly killing him.
We do eventually meet Charlie's now 17YO daughter, Ellie, who is full of piss and vinegar about the way her dad abandoned their family. With so few characters in the film (five, not including the pizza delivery guy), the maximum amount of conflict out of every relationship. Liz, Charlie's caregiver, detests Thomas (she has a reason to dislike his church), has a relationship with Charlie's former lover, and has several interactions with Ellie. There's a subplot between Ellie and Thomas, and conflict between Thomas and Liz, but in the end everything comes back to Charlie's heart which is broken, both physically and figuratively.
The Whale is a good movie, but not a "feel good" movie. It's about depression, and regret, and self-loathing, and broken relationships, and broken people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWiQodhMvz4
[i]The Whale[/i] tells the story of Charlie, a morbidly obese man whose small world is limited to his upstairs apartment. Other than daily visits from his caregiver, Liz, Charlie's only human interaction comes from the students of his English comp class, which he teaches remotely using Zoom/ Fearing what his students might think of his appearance, Charlie's webcam is perpetually "broken."
One morning, Charlie receives an unsolicited visit from Thomas, a young member of the New Life church who is spreading the gospel one door knock at a time. Through Thomas and Liz, Charlie's history is revealed. Once a married man with a young daughter, Charlie began having an affair with one of his male students, a man he eventually left his family for. As a result of his actions, Charlie was legally prevented from contacting his then 8YO daughter. Worse (?) is the fact that Charlie's partner ultimately took his own life, leaving Charlie where we find him today -- alone save for Liz, his online students, and a never-ending supply of food that is slowly killing him.
We do eventually meet Charlie's now 17YO daughter, Ellie, who is full of piss and vinegar about the way her dad abandoned their family. With so few characters in the film (five, not including the pizza delivery guy), the maximum amount of conflict out of every relationship. Liz, Charlie's caregiver, detests Thomas (she has a reason to dislike his church), has a relationship with Charlie's former lover, and has several interactions with Ellie. There's a subplot between Ellie and Thomas, and conflict between Thomas and Liz, but in the end everything comes back to Charlie's heart which is broken, both physically and figuratively.
[i]The Whale[/i] is a good movie, but not a "feel good" movie. It's about depression, and regret, and self-loathing, and broken relationships, and broken people.