The Whale 2022 Movie Review

The+Whale+2022+Movie+Review

Maddy M Robbins, history/opinions

The new psychological drama, “The Whale, “has taken a strong and mournful feel over people once they watched this movie. The ratings for “The Whale.” since its release date, December 9th, 2022, is 8.1/10, according to IMDb. The actors’ performances of their characters seemed so real and touching, along with the movie’s storyline being a realistic and heartbreaking story. After watching this movie, many reviewers have said they felt as if they were on an emotional roller coaster from start to finish, which I myself can also confirm as I cried during most of the movie from start to finish. 

“The Whale ” is about a man named Charlie with severe obesity, and he is an English teacher who teaches students online. Throughout the movie, he tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter, Ellie. Charlie tries to build any kind of relationship with her.   He  decided to leave Ellie and his wife at the time when Ellie was 8 years old. The entire film takes place inside Charlie’s apartment, where he teaches students online English. Charlie had a passion for reading amazing stories that others write. One particular story Charlie loves reading is a meaningful story about a whale that he first states is an essay that was done by a student.  The student’s essay has a much deeper meaning that was revealed  at the end of the movie. In the first part of the movie, his friend Liz, who is a nurse, checks on him every so often. I don’t want to spoil the movie, but I will mention that Liz, as a nurse, finds it very important for Charlie to go to the hospital because he isn’t in the healthiest position himself. Later in the movie when Charlie finds a way to reconnect with Ellie, who later shows up at Charlie’s apartment upset, angry, and confused because he left Ellie and her mom his own reasons that Ellie couldn’t understand. I will choose not to share the rest of this scene because this movie is worth watching to find out more of Charlie’s story and his past relationship with his daughter and family along with learning more about the other characters played. This movie goes into many different topics, such as Christianity, LGBT, and obesity, but also many viewers found these topics controversial. I personally will say this movie is much more than just those topics, because those topics aren’t what the movie is about itself, and you will have to see the movie to determine that yourself. 

The performance the actors shared on screen was phenomenal and so genuine, especially from Sadie Sink, who plays Charlie’s daughter. Sink performs such a controversial yet real character that makes you almost feel as lost as her throughout the movie. When I saw this movie in theaters, I remember the credits started to roll, and not a single person in the theater stood up. Everyone needed a minute to catch their breath and wipe the torrent of tears running down their face, especially mine. This movie is for sure one of my personal favorites, and I highly recommend seeing this movie when you have the chance and/or need to give yourself a good cry.   

 

IMDb.com. (2022, December 21). The whale. IMDb. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13833688/ 

Picture source: “The Whale.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 21 Dec. 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13833688/?scrlybrkr.