Susannah Wares

Saw "The Whale" with Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink last night. The most heart/gut wrenching film I've literally ever seen. If you are going to see it MAJOR trigger warning for themes of religous trauma, homophobic trauma, eating disorders, binge eating, anorexia, child neglect, alcoholism, suicide, daddy issues, obesity, and having a parent/loved one with severe obesity. The couple next to us and several others literally had to LEAVE the theater! I literally couldn't even get up to leave the theater myself when it was over I was crying so hard. I cried almost as hard as when my great grandma or my uncle died. Amazing work by the actors but damn, A24 really wants to see you disturbed and unhinged when you finish one of their films. 5 stars for the actors, film and story writing but 0 stars for personal experience. On religion: As a longtime Christian who has recently deconstructed, I believe this film shows the struggle of hypocrisy and heartbreak for the believer that falls in love with a member of the same sex. I don't think this depiction of Christ's message was a mockery. I thought it was one that shed light on the cracks within oppressive views and the grace and love shown by Fraser's character Charlie. #iloveyoubrendanfraser