The Whale brought me to tears. Brendan Fraser delivered his best performance yet. It was hard to watch but his presence kept you from looking away. He brought forth such a vast amount of empathy in me that I was emotionally drained afterward. His story was the best example of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. When you get into the meat of the film and have learned everything that has transpired in Charlie’s life, you root for him. Even after you learn of his mistakes. It’s purely gut-wrenching.
Not only did Fraser perform flawlessly, but the entire cast also poured their souls into the film. Hong Chau as Liz was simply perfect. Her emotions rang through loud and clear as did her presence. She is small in stature but her personality filled the room. Sadie Sink as Ellie was another bullseye. Her character had so much anger and emotional pain that her scenes were hard to watch also. You felt her pain, you felt her sadness and her anger bordered on rage. Ty Simpkins as Thomas was a breath of fresh air, or so you think. But hello, there are issues there too and he portrays them on screen with the gusto of the most seasoned actor. Samantha Morton as Mary, the ex-wife showed another side of the pain bringing the movie full circle. What I’m getting at is this is perfection. Every single aspect.
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I do highly recommend this movie but know that it is not fun, it’s a spiral staircase leading right into emptiness.
Grade: A+
About The Peetimes: I recommend the 1st Peetime. I feel between the 2 the 1st was easier to summarize for you without ruining the flow of the movie. The Whale is so intense that no Peetime will do it justice.
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I’ve been using RunPee for a few years now and it’s basically a requirement of going to the movies for me. The best part of course are the “pee times” that give you cues, synopses and times for when you can pee without missing the most important parts of the movie. There is also information about the credits- length, extras and if there are any extra scenes at the wayyy end. Super helpful to just know that it is or isn’t worth staying. There is a timer function that will buzz your phone when it’s a good time to pee. I also appreciate that the app is very conscientious about it being an app you use in a theater- dark background, all silent alarms etc. I will always enjoy the experience of the theater even if I could watch things at home- but I’ve even used it at home to check for things like after credit scenes or other information too.
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There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of The Whale.
| Rated: | (R) Language | Some Drug Use | Sexual Content |
| Genres: | Drama |
| Starring: | Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins |
| Director: | Darren Aronofsky |
| Writer(s): | Samuel D. Hunter |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | United States |
Plot
A reclusive English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
RunPee.com owes RunPee Sis a huge debt of gratitude. She sees any movie needed with no complaints and has done so for ten years (even basing Thanksgiving and Christmas family festivities around the seeing films). In 2015 Sis ran the entire RunPee enterprise herself, while RunPee Dan, Jilly and Mom went traipsing off to Europe. Sis is the spider in the web holding the RunPee family together — besides being a funny, well rounded person, and a joyous pleasure to be around. Her favorite films start and end with horror (which thank goodness she’s happy to see, since most of us don’t have the stomach for it) — but also likes silly comedies, sad dramas, and musicals of all types. If you’ve used a Peetime for a scary film, you probably have RunPee Sis to thank for it.
Favorite movie genre: Horror, horror, and more horror. The more disturbing, the better. Period.
Appreciate the movie or not, get emotional or not, Brendan Fraser is MAGNIFICENT. As you mentioned, Christene, the entire cast goes all in on their performances. Brendan as Charlie deserves all the awards.
That’s really good and useful information. I appreciate you immediately providing this useful information with us
Thanks for sharing. It was interesting to read your point of view
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