The Whale

Charlie leads the life of a hermit somewhere in Idaho. He is an English teacher, but he never sees his students, as he only teaches online. He prefers to stay inside, as his obesity prevents normal contact. Nurse Liz visits him from time to time, but he ignores her advice. He would like to reconnect with his teenage daughter Ellie, with whom he has lost contact after the divorce from his wife. She reluctantly agrees, but the first meeting does not exactly go well; there is a lot of pain from the past. Charlie, however, does not give up.

With nuance and depth, actor Brendan Fraser, best known for his role in The Mummy series, shapes the obese Charlie, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The Whale, a story about grief and self-acceptance, is a film adaptation of the play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter, who also signed for the screenplay here.