Anderson Palmer

As a Brendan Fraser fan, I very much wanted to like ‘The Whale’, but (while I did think his performance warranted the Oscar nod), the movie was a disappointment. Ironic that a story about the power of words and writing would suffer from such ham-fisted and over-worked dialog such as that found in this film. An erratic plot suffers from an identity crisis, right along side the author’s 2 dimensional characters, most of whom themselves don’t seem to have first inkling of a sense of who they are. And yes, though this sort of existential angst can be the stuff of great art, the subtly and intelligence of the same is sadly lacking here. The last minute rally falls short. As a great writing teacher once said, ‘ Don’t tell me, show me’. After a couple of hours of being smacked about the head by this story with the finesse of a rubber salmon, I can confidently say some stories should perhaps, stay untold. This, I fear, is one of those.

This is a lyrical and intelligent film, an allegorical fantasy with important things to say. It’s rampant silliness is juxtaposed to its moments of simple clarity and insight, and is reflective of our own absurd and contradictory existence. If I’m screwed up, or having an existential crisis, this film will sort me in record time, and has for 30 years. The fact that so many people don’t get it, and that its reviews are so ‘Meh’ is, I believe, illustrative of its main message: most of the world is asleep, and those who are not live in a constant state of complete amazement. If you are asleep, this will seem like a silly jaunt of a movie. If you are awake, (or just need a good shake now and again) this film will move you profoundly. It never fails for me :)