A reclusive English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
In a strange and erotic reckoning, “Moby Dick” appears to be the unsung hero in this travesty of broken relationships. As the film opens, Charlie (Brendan Fraser) seems to be practicing a well-known calming element of repeating what appears to be a well-versed portion of a mantra that calms and reassures him that, in the end, all will be okay. The irony is that, throughout the film, it proves to be a self-imposed ritual that he expects others to follow without the expansive knowledge of its purpose. As an online English Teacher, Charlie has found a way to hide from the world through various excuses while teaching his students never to hide from their ability to express their innermost thoughts. The methodology of Charlie’s teachings is not only unorthodox, but they are self-destructive as he continues to feed himself excessive amounts of food which impact his ability to be seen and heard. His students never get a chance to see him physically because of the embarrassment of an eating disorder that has manifested into mounting health issues threatening his life and livelihood. Not only does this impair his ability to navigate throughout his home, but also the ability to navigate through the dysfunctional relationships with his caretaker, Liz (Hong Chau), teenage daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink), and his ex-wife, Mary (Samantha Morton).
The relationships in Charlie’s life are central to the plot in that Charlie’s abandoning his family for a lover resulted in years of bitterness from his ex-wife and daughter. Then after the death of his lover, he continues to self-destruct when he tries to purchase his daughter’s affection by promising a great deal of money and homework assistance. He then gets in trouble with his caretaker because she doesn’t want to see him being taken advantage of. The relationship with his caretaker is also disturbing because although she gives him the tough love he needs to survive, she also rebounds and feels sorry for being so mean because she shares the same loss with Charlie as Charlie’s lover was also her brother. Director Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem for a Dream”) painstakingly built these characters where their dysfunction became a necessary part of what made them viable to one another. In addition, the Missionary, Thomas (Ty Simpkins), who shows up out of nowhere with his religious dysfunction, seems to play a vital role, unintentionally, by filling in the gaps that were needed to save Charlie’s soul and repair the entire family dynamic.
While there have been many adaptations of “The Whale” by comparison, the total physical transformation by Brendan Fraser in this version appears to be an element that sets it apart from the others. While Charlie appears to be the most dysfunctional at every turn, his mantras of positivity seem to balance out the bad with the good and make an excellent case for harmony amid physical and emotional weariness that leads to the last and most defiant form of expression, which is acceptance.
In theaters Wednesday, December 21st
