The Whale

2022 1h 57m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 4,941

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Brendan Fraser
Charlie
Sadie Sink
Ellie
Ty Simpkins
Thomas
Hong Chau
Liz
Samantha Morton
Mary
Sathya Sridharan
Dan the Pizza Man
Jacey Sink
Young Ellie
Allison Altman
Young Mary (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Samuel D. Hunter
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $58M — a 19.2× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, shot by Matthew Libatique. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rob Simonsen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Andrew Weisblum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt13833688 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Darren Aronofsky directs. Matthew Libatique behind the camera. Rob Simonsen scores. Andrew Weisblum cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $58M — a 19.2× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 4 years ago.
4Directed by Darren Aronofsky, shot by Matthew Libatique. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rob Simonsen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Andrew Weisblum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt13833688 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 29 themes, including "depression", "nurse", "missionary", "idaho".

The technical file

Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
Original score: Rob Simonsen
Editing: Andrew Weisblum
Production design: Mark Friedberg
Costume design: Danny Glicker
Makeup / hair: Judy Chin
VFX supervisor: Bilali Mack
Sound: Chris Chae
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $57,615,635
Return: 1921% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Whale (2022)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Academy Award for Best Actor
St. Louis Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Darren Aronofsky

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2022-10-15
★ 8/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/the-whale-spoiler-free-review-lff-2022 "The Whale earns its place in the "most tearful films of the year" list as it moves slowly yet efficiently towards its overwhelmingly emotional ending, especially elevated by the most subtly powerful & irrefutably moving performance of Brendan Fraser's career. The rest of the cast contributes to the construction of a character with whom tremendous compassion is produced, but it isn't an easily digestible movie due to its disturbing, uncomfortable moments. Darren Aronofsky presents a depressing, passionate, and, above all, brutally honest story about trauma, acceptance, and positivity. The filmmaker's lack of restraint may be a trigger for some, but the impact of his messages couldn't be more memorable. Bring tissues." Rating: B+
Nathan2023-02-01
★ 8/10
The Whale is a heart breaking story of our main character, Charlie (Brendon Fraser), as he tries to make amends for abandoning his daughter. Charlie is obese, an ailment that has manifested itself as a coping mechanism for a life of regret. In every scene and interaction this regret is worn by Charlie as a cloak of his past that will stay with him until his dying breath. This character is an immense undertaking and Brendon Fraser plays him perfectly. The emotion he delivers is palpable, which lends itself so seamlessly to scenes of raw sadness and despair. Not only is Fraser a highlight, but the entire supporting cast does an excellent job. Hong Chau is superb, and despite her tough, no nonsense, science focused exterior hides a deep and genuine connection with Charlie. She is incredibly hurt by the way he is treating his body, but is defenseless to his desires, resulting in her to continually feed his addiction. It is a brutal back and forth that is tackled with immense care. Sadie Sink is great as well, she is delivers a brutal performance that leaves the character of Ellie easily hatable with very little redeemable qualities. I understand that this was the point of her character, and by no means is this a knock on Sink's performance, but it felt like a bit much. She was too cruel, to the point of unbelievability, which took a bit away from the message that was trying to be delivered. The pace was a bit slow for my liking. I felt as if the Thomas subplot was a bit pointless and could have been cut from the movie with no ill effects. But despite my minor complaints, the movie is carried by fantastic performances, amazing cinematography and intense emotions that will leave many viewers pleased with their experience, but will not be for everyone. Score: 82% Verdict: Great
CinemaSerf2023-02-09
★ 7/10
Yikes, but this second gay-themed outing for Brendan Fraser could hardly be more different from his 1998 "Gods and Monsters" one. Here his is the critically obese "Charlie" who has grown to a size where his health is in tatters and he has virtually no mobility as he regularly consumes two large pizzas for dinner and two great meatball subs for lunch. We learn quite quickly a little of what initially drove this man to this level of despair and as things begin to look terminal, we share his aspirations to reconcile with his daughter whom he left eight years earlier to be with his gay lover "Allan". Now for all I thought Fraser was superb in this film, I found Sadie Sink's performance as the truly selfish, conniving and odious daughter "Ellie" (upon whom he rather dotes) stole this for me. At times I really did want to shoot her! Ty Simpkins also does well as the well meaning god-squadder who finds his association with this dysfunctional family helps open his eyes too. Hong Chau performs well as his long suffering friend/nurse/confidante "Liz", and as mortality looms the characters are drawn into an increasingly angry, hostile environment that is full of bitterness, rancour and regret certainly, but maybe - just maybe - the slightest hint of reconciliation. Fraser will never deliver another performance like this again. Sure, his size and generally slothful demeanour are so far from the hale-fellow-well-met series of characters we have seen thus far in his career that they are bound to have an effect. His acting, though, is honest and emotional. His character is torn and distraught and he conveys that potently, especially in the scenes with his obnoxious daughter. The plot has an inevitability to it, which doesn't usually work so well for me - but here, it helps focus on the few interlinked stories and characters allowing little room for distraction. It's not without it's humour now and again, either. I've deliberately avoided reading about how he got to that size - somehow, knowing might spoil what is undoubtedly a tour de force from both him and Miss Sink. Brave and uncompromising - well worth a watch.