The Whale
Darren
Aronofsky (director), Samuel D. Hunter (writer), Matthew Libatique (cinematography), Andrew Weisblum
(editor)
Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton (cast)
Content warning: Fatphobia, fat-shaming, food, religious rhethoric
 |
| Image credit: Courtesy of TIFF |
There was a lot of buzz around The Whale, which is the only reason I went to watch it at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. This is not my kind of film and I hate how Hollywood still hasn’t stopped using fat suits. I mean, the film is about a fat person and it’s called The Whale, which is a pejorative used against plus-size people even now. I’m not sure any plus-size people were consulted in the making of this film (or the original play it was based on either). Despite all these red flags, I had hoped, given all the praise languished on the film, that I was in for a surprise. I wasn’t.
The film
is about Charlie (Brendan Fraser), who is a 600-pound man who refuses to ‘take care
of himself.’ He lives a reclusive life, interacting solely with his students on
video chats, without his video on, and his friend, nurse Liz (Hong Chau). The
film follows Charlie making amends with his loved ones during a pivotal moment
in his life. He tries to patch up his relationship with his daughter Ellie (Sadie
Sink), and while that’s certainly a significant part of the film, so is the
journey of learning Charlie’s recent history and the status of his relationships
with those closest to him.
Samuel D.
Hunter adapts his own play to create the film. As a character study, yes, The
Whale is outstanding. It takes its time to unpeel the layers, gently introducing
the audience to the characters and who they are. But the film still revels in
being mean-spirited toward the only fat person in the story. Every affecting
story beat is undone by fat-shaming or offensive stereotypes. Charlie is a
sympathetic character who is dealing with trauma and grief and yet he hasn’t
had the help he needs to move forward. But I’m not convinced the creators of
the film believe that. There are far too many moments that are cruel and
insulting for no apparent reason.
Though couched
in sanctimonious language around Charlie’s ‘health’, which is nothing new to
fat people, The Whale's real focus is on appearance and the perceived
grotesqueness of Charlie’s body. The film keeps reiterating that Charlie
has ‘let himself go’ and that his former partner would be ‘ashamed’ of what he
is now. But The Whale misses a crucial understanding of not just fat people
but also human relationships by harping on this point. Would Charlie’s late partner
be upset because of how Charlie looks now or the fact that Charlie has stopped
living life? It’s such a reductionist viewpoint and one that’s been done to
death.
Despite
some effort put in to humanize the character, Charlie is still presented as a
creature to be gawked at, to be pitied, to be disgusted by. He is a man with an
unhealthy relationship with food, which is how Hollywood and the majority of
thin people imagine all fat people behave. It isn’t. Some people have different
metabolisms, genetics, hereditary traits, medical conditions, and also a poor
relationship to diet culture. These can all contribute to weight differences.
But no, let’s leave nuance at the door and create a singular story about
gluttony.
Brendan
Fraser in a fat suit annoys me. Him being an actor who is slightly larger than
the average Hollywood actor does not give this movie brownie points. But he
does act his heart out and imbues Charlie with so much personality and
character. You will feel Charlie’s pain, his love, and his acceptance.
Liz is
played with aplomb by Hong Chau. She is very emotive and expressive and brings
the film to life every time she’s on screen. Her character is much more
sympathetic towards Charlie than everyone else, but she also has a few
‘I-told-you-so’ moments, which was frustrating. You don’t need to remind fat
people that they’re fat—they already know!
I thought
the Ty Simpkins character was superfluous. He was little more than an audience
stand-in but also just a plot device. We needed less of him and more of Charlie
bonding with Liz and maybe even his ex-wife. I understand that religious
indoctrination is a significant part of America, but that plotline felt preachy
and detracted from the rest of the story.
The
biggest issue with the film was Ellie. Sadie Sink does a reasonable job
with the script she’s given, but Ellie is a horrible character. At one point
she’s referred to as ‘evil’, and I agree. She’s a nasty, cruel, unthinking
person. She endlessly mocks and berates her father, and while it’s
understandable that she’s angry with him, she takes it out by fat-shaming,
name-calling, and belittling him. It was unbearable whenever her character was
on screen, and worse when she was interacting with her father. In Ellie’s first
scene with Charlie, she asks him to do something that, in real life, would have
ended in severe injury or even death. It was a disgustingly ableist trope
that’s been used in Hollywood before. Later on, she commits another act that,
again, probably would have ended badly. But Ellie is given a redemptive arc,
while Charlie remains an anomaly.
It’s
obvious that Charlie’s weight is the reason for his isolation, but the film
never engages with the idea that there are large people living their lives to
the fullest. Charlie is surrounded by people of exactly one size, but none of
them encourage him to return to living by showing him what other people in the
fat community are doing. He’s beaten down by people who look down on him; can
we blame him for the decision he finally makes?
The film
is based on a play and comes across as such. The setting is almost exclusively
in Charlie’s apartment, with a couple of exterior shots. But the setting is to
the benefit of the story—this is Charlie’s home and we see how he has been able
to modify it and how he navigates it. I did like that the set design
makes it obvious what Charlie is passionate about, but then they threw in
drawers full of candy, so I’m not as impressed anymore.
I genuinely
expected this film to subvert Hollywood’s tradition of treating fat people like
circus acts, but instead, it doubles down on that idea. The suggestion that this
film is some kind of commentary or reflection on fat-shaming culture never sees the light of day. I wish I hadn’t watched this film, because it brings nothing new
to pop culture’s dynamic with sizeism.
Comments