2023 Academy Awards: ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is the top winner

March 12, 2023

by Carla Hay

Members of the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” team, pictured clockwise, from left: Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Wong, Stephanie Hsu, Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan and Ke Huy Quan at the 95th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023. (Photo courtesy of ABC)

With seven Oscars, including Best Picture, A24’s sci-fi/action film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was the top winner for the 95th annual Academy Awards, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023. ABC had the live U.S. telecast of the show, which was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which had 11 nominations, also won Oscars for Best Director (for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert); Best Actress (for Michelle Yeoh); Best Supporting Actress (for Jamie Lee Curtis); Best Suporting Actor (for Ke Huy Quan); Best Film Editing; and Best Original Screenplay. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is about a Chinese American family traveling through multiple time eras, identities and universes.

Netflix’s German-language World War I drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” won four Oscars: Best International Feature Film, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Original Score. Going into the ceremony, “All Quiet on the Western Front” had nine Oscar nominations. Searchlight Pictures’ 1920s Irish comedy/drama “The Banshees of Inisherin” also garnered nine nominations, but didn’t win any Oscars. For the first time in Oscar history, the category for Best Picture is now required to have no less than 10 nominations per year.

The only other movie to win more than one Oscar this year was the A24 drama “The Whale,” which won the prizes for Best Actor (for Brendan Fraser) and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. In the movie, Fraser portrays an extremely obsese man who is dying. For his role in “The Whale,” Fraser wore prosthetic makeup from the neck down.

The Academy Awards (or Oscars) are voted on and presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The 2003 Oscar ceremony telecast was overseen by executive producer/showrunner Glenn Weiss, executive producer/showrunner Ricky Kirshner and executive producer Molly McNearney.

Artists at the show who performed the five Oscar-nominated songs were Sofia Carson and Diane Warren ( “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman”); David Byrne, Stephanie Hsu and Son Lux (“This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once” ); Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj (“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”); Lady Gaga (“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”); and Rihanna (“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”). “Naatu Naatu” won the Oscar, which went to songwriters M.M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose.

Presenters at the ceremony were Riz Ahmed, Halle Bailey, Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Halle Berry, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Dano, Ariana DeBose, Cara Delevingne, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek Pinault, Kate Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Mindy Kaling, Nicole Kidman, Troy Kotsur, Eva Longoria, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Elizabeth Olsen, Deepika Padukone, Pedro Pascal, Florence Pugh, Margot Robbie, Zoe Saldaña, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, John Travolta, Sigourney Weaver and Donnie Yen.

Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis at the 95th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023. (Photo courtesy of ABC)

Here is the complete list of winners and nominees for the 2023 Academy Awards:

*=winner

Best Picture

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Malte Grunert, Producer
  • “Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
  • “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers
  • “Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers
  • “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers*
  • “The Fabelmans,” Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers
  • “TÁR,” Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers
  • “Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
  • “Triangle of Sadness,” Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers
  • “Women Talking,” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

Best Director 

  • Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
  • Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)*
  • Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) 
  • Todd Field (“TÁR”) 
  • Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)

Best Lead Actor

  • Austin Butler (“Elvis”) 
  • Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
  • Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”)* 
  • Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) 
  • Bill Nighy (“Living”) 

Best Lead Actress

  • Cate Blanchett (“TÁR”) 
  • Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) 
  • Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”)
  • Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) 
  • Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)*

Best Supporting Actor

  • Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
  • Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) 
  • Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”)
  • Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
  • Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)*

Best Supporting Actress

  • Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) 
  • Hong Chau (“The Whale”) 
  • Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
  • Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)*
  • Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
  • “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson
  • “Living,” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • “Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
  • “Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley*

Best Original Screenplay

  • “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Written by Martin McDonagh
  • “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert*
  • “The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
  • “TÁR,” Written by Todd Field
  • “Triangle of Sadness,” Written by Ruben Östlund

Best Cinematography 

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” James Friend*
  • “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” Darius Khondji
  • “Elvis,” Mandy Walker
  • “Empire of Light,” Roger Deakins
  • “Tár,” Florian Hoffmeister

Best Film Editing

  • “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
  • “Elvis,” Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond
  • “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers*
  • “TÁR,” Monika Willi
  • “Top Gun: Maverick,” Eddie Hamilton

Best Original Score 

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann*
  • “Babylon,” Justin Hurwitz
  • “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Carter Burwell
  • “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux
  • “The Fabelmans,” John Williams

Best Sound

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte
  • “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges
  • “The Batman,” Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson
  • “Elvis,” David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller
  • “Top Gun: Maverick,” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor*

Best Original Song 

  • “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
  • “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
  • “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler
  • “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose* 
  • “This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne 

Best Animated Feature Film 

  • “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley*
  • “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey
  • “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
  • “The Sea Beast,” Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
  • “Turning Red,” Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Best International Feature Film 

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany)* 
  • “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina) 
  • “Close” (Belgium)
  • “EO” (Poland) 
  • “The Quiet Girl” (Ireland) 

Best Documentary Feature Film 

  • “All That Breathes,” Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
  • “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov
  • “Fire of Love,” Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
  • “A House Made of Splinters,” Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström
  • “Navalny,” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris*

Best Makeup and Hairstyling 

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová
  • “The Batman,” Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine
  • “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Camille Friend and Joel Harlow
  • “Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti
  • “The Whale,” Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley*

Best Costume Design 

  • “Babylon,” Mary Zophres
  • “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth Carter*
  • “Elvis,” Catherine Martin
  • “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Shirley Kurata
  • “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Jenny Beavan

Best Production Design 

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper*
  • “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole
  • “Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
  • “Elvis,” Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn
  • “The Fabelmans,” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara

Best Visual Effects

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar
  • “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett*
  • “The Batman,” Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy
  • “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick
  • “Top Gun: Maverick,” Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Best Documentary Short Film 

  • “The Elephant Whisperers,” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga*
  • “Haulout,” Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
  • “How Do You Measure a Year?” Jay Rosenblatt
  • “The Martha Mitchell Effect,” Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
  • “Stranger at the Gate,” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Best Animated Short Film

  • “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud*
  • “The Flying Sailor,” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
  • “Ice Merchants,” João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano
  • “My Year of Dicks,” Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon
  • “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It,” Lachlan Pendragon

Best Live Action Short Film

  • “An Irish Goodbye,” Tom Berkeley and Ross White*
  • “Ivalu,” Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan
  • “Le Pupille,” Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón
  • “Night Ride,” Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen
  • “The Red Suitcase,” Cyrus Neshvad

Review: ‘The Whale’ (2022), starring Brendan Fraser

December 8, 2022

by Carla Hay

Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” (Photo courtesy of A24)

“The Whale” (2022)

Directed by Darren Aronofksy

Culture Representation: Taking place over five days in July 2016, in an unnamed city in Idaho, the dramatic film “The Whale” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with two people of Asian heritage) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A very obese man, who lives as a shut-in and refuses to get hospital treatment for his failing health, spends time trying to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, while he also has tension-filled encounters with his visiting friend/nurse, his ex-wife and a young Christian missionary. 

Culture Audience: “The Whale” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Brendan Fraser; director Darren Aronofsky; the Samuel L. Hunter play on which the movie is based; and emotionally intense dramas about society misfits and the need for love, acceptance and forgiveness.

Sadie Sink in “The Whale” (Photo by Niko Tavernise/A24)

“The Whale” has impactful performances that get viewers to react on a visceral level. People will think about what makes them uncomfortable in this story, which takes an emotional journey into the type of life that some people think should be hidden. With only a few exceptions, the scenes in “The Whale” take place inside the dark and depressing two-bedroom apartment of the movie’s protagonist: a very obese shut-in named Charlie (played by Brendan Fraser, in a stunning performance), who knows he is dying but refuses to go to a hospital because he doesn’t have the health insurance to cover any expenses. Aside from his physical issues, what’s really ailing Charlie is that he’s guilt-ridden and heartbroken over what has happened in his life.

Darren Aronofsky directed “The Whale,” which is based on Samuel L. Hunter’s “The Whale” play that was originally staged in 2013. Hunter, whose own life experiences inspired “The Whale,” also wrote the adapted screenplay for “The Whale.” The movie takes place in an unnamed Idaho city, over five days (Monday through Friday) in July 2016. (“The Whale” was actually filmed in Newburgh, New York.) Viewers know that it’s July 2016, because when Charlie briefly turns on his TV, there are live news reports about the 2016 Republican National Convention.

During the movie’s opening credits, a travel bus is seen dropping off a teenage male passenger on a nearly deserted expressway. Charlie will soon meet this stranger under some very stressful circumstances. This stranger becomes briefly involved in Charlie’s life in an unexpected way.

Charlie makes a living as an English teacher of students enrolled in an online course. He currently has 14 students, who all do group video conference calls with him for the class sessions. Because Charlie is self-conscious about his physical appearance, he doesn’t want the students to know what he looks like, so he tells a lie by saying that his computer’s videocamera isn’t working.

Charlie’s assignments for the students consist mostly of writing essays. He has high standards and places a lot of emphasis on his students writing essays that are authentic to who they are as individuals. During a session shown early in the movie, Charlie tells his students, “The point of this course to learn how to write clearly and persuasively. That’s how you effectively communicate your ideas.”

Charlie’s weight is so massive, he has trouble breathing and he usually can’t move while upright unless he’s using a walker or a wheelchair. The details of Charlie’s shut-in life are eventually revealed in conversations, but the gist of it is that he began overeating out of grief because his live-in boyfriend Alan Grant committed suicide. Nine years ago, Charlie left his ex-wife Mary (played by Samantha Morton) to be with Alan, who was a former student of Charlie’s in an adult education class. Alan and Charlie met because of this class.

Charlie and Mary have a rebellious 17-year-old daughter named Ellie (played by Sadie Sink), who is very resentful of Charlie because he’s had no contact with her for the past nine years. Mary has had full custody of Ellie since Charlie left them. Charlie has paid child support, but Mary has refused to let Charlie contact Ellie for all of these years, and he eventually gave up. Charlie only hears about Ellie when he calls Mary about once a month to check in with Mary and ask how Ellie is doing. Mary has now become a bitter alcoholic, and it’s implied that she’s also addicted to Xanax.

Charlie’s existence is very lonely. His one true friend is a nurse named Liz (played by Hong Chau), who also happens to be the adopted sister of Alan. Liz and Alan grew up in a conservative Christian household, and their father is a high-ranking leader of a church called New Life. The church isn’t exactly a full-blown cult, but it’s very controlling and judgmental about how the church members (and non-members) lead their lives.

New Life also has missionaries who try to get people to join the church. Needless to say, New Life condemns any sexuality that isn’t heterosexual. Liz and Charlie want nothing to do with the church, because they think that the church, especially Alan’s father, caused a lot of emotional damage to Alan, who had a history of depression. In case it isn’t clear enough, Liz says early on the movie, “I fucking hate New Life.”

The only other person who’s in regular contact with Charlie is a pizza delivery guy named Dan (played by Sathya Sridharan), who has to leave the pizza and pick up Charlie’s payment outside Charlie’s front door, because Charlie doesn’t want Dan to know what Charlie looks like. It’s a painful reminder to Charlie of how low his self-esteem has gotten that he’s ashamed to interact with strangers on a face-to-face basis. Dan delivers pizza to the Charlie’s apartment several times during the movie.

In one of the first scenes in “The Whale,” Charlie is home alone and masturbating while watching gay porn on his laptop computer. (There’s no nudity in this movie.) He suddenly starts wheezing and calls out for help. A young man who happened to be outside Charlie’s apartment suddenly bursts in the unlocked door, because he heard Charlie’s cries of distress. The young man, who’s in his late teens, is named Thomas (played by Ty Simpkins), and he’s the same guy who was dropped off by the travel bus.

Thomas says he’ll call for an ambulance, but Charlie orders him not to do that, because Charlie insists that he doesn’t need to go to a hospital and because he has a nurse friend who can come over to help. Until Liz can get there, Charlie has a very unusual request: He hands Thomas a written essay about Herman Melville’s 1851 novel “Moby Dick” and tells Thomas to read the essay to him. Hearing the essay seems to calm Charlie down considerably.

Charlie calls Liz, who comes over to give Charlie the medical attention that she can give to him. His blood pressure reading is an alarming 238/134. She tells Charlie in no uncertain terms that if he doesn’t go to a hospital for help, he will die. Charlie still refuses hospital treatment and says he doesn’t want to be in debt over hospital bills. Liz quips, “It’s better to be in debt than dead.”

After Liz arrives, Thomas introduces himself as a missionary from New Church. As soon as Liz hears that information, she’s immediately hostile and mistrustful of Thomas. She lets him know how she disliked being in the New Church community as a child. Liz also tells Thomas that there’s no point in trying to convert Charlie either. Thomas listens to Liz’s rant, but he still thinks he can somehow “save” an obviously troubled Charlie through religious counseling.

Liz, Thomas, Mary and Ellie visit Charlie over the course of the movie in several emotionally charged scenes. Ellie shows up suddenly at the apartment one day to demand that Charlie write an essay for her. He’s surprised to hear that she’s flunking out of school, and Ellie tells him that needs a good grade on this essay, or else she’ll be expelled. Mary, who shows up later to look for Ellie, is in a simmering rage because she doesn’t want Ellie to be in contact with Charlie.

During the course of the story, secrets are revealed, tensions run high, and Charlie tries to make up for lost time with Ellie. She doesn’t make it easy for Charlie, because she berates and insults him for a great deal of their time together. Mary’s relationship with Ellie has deteriorated to the point that Mary tells Charlie that she thinks Ellie is “evil.” Not only is Ellie a troublemaker at school, but she’s also a cyberbully who cruelly taunts and harasses people online if she decides that she doesn’t like them.

Even in his dismal state, Charlie is an optimist who wants to see the good in people, and he refuses to believe that Ellie is a bad person. He thinks Ellie is lashing out because of the emotional damage that was caused when he left Ellie and Mary. As Charlie also says in the movie, he desperately wants to believe that Ellie is the one thing in his life that he got right.

Charlie repeatedly compliments Ellie in an attempt to make her (and himself) feel better, but Ellie usually reacts with more anger and resentment. How much longer does Charlie has to live? All he knows is that he doesn’t want to die without making peace with Ellie.

“The Whale” had its world premiere at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, and then made the rounds at several other film festivals in 2022, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. It’s the type of movie that will have the most appeal to people who don’t mind watching films that essentially take place in one location. In this case, the location is an apartment that the cast members succeed in making seem like a claustrophobic, ticking time bomb of emotions that’s ready to explode at any moment.

Fraser gives a heart-wrenching performance as someone on the verge of dying who is engulfed in regret, guilt and shame about how his life turned out, but who’s desperately seeking love and forgiveness from the daughter he abandoned. Fraser’s use of his eyes and facial expressions are a master class in expressing this despair of isolation, as well as the frustration of someone whose physical size often renders him immobile. (For Charlie’s body, Fraser wore prosthetics from his neck down.)

Morton and Sink also give striking performances as embittered Mary and Ellie, who don’t like each other very much, probably because they’re so similar to each other, and their worst qualities remind them of what they don’t like about themselves. The cracks in the hard emotional shells of Mary and Ellie sometimes show, with Ellie having some indications (no matter how hostile they are) that she still wants Charlie’s love. Mary also has a moment in the movie where she expresses her vulnerability with Charlie.

Chau’s performance as Jenny is an admirably nuanced balancing act that shows Jenny’s frustration and confusion over how to be a nurse and a friend to Charlie. Jenny gives medical attention to Charlie, scolds him about not taking care of himself, and even saves him from choking on a hoagie. But she’s also someone who buys junk food for Charlie because she knows that’s what makes him superficially happy, even though she knows that giving him fattening food is a medically irresponsible thing to do.

Simpkins does well in his role, but Thomas is a stranger to Charlie. The women in Charlie’s life mean much more to Charlie and to this story. And the movie doesn’t gloss over how much food means to Charlie. He feeds his food addiction as if food can fill up the emptiness that he feels within himself. There are a few food-binging scenes when Charlie is alone that will make some viewers squirm in discomfort.

If there’s one main criticism that some people might have about “The Whale,” it’s that the movie at times seems to be trying too hard to wring emotions out of the audience. There are moments that come across as a “play to the back of the room” vibe of a stage production, where theater actors tend to go very big with their dramatic deliveries of the dialogue. Rob Simonsen’s musical score for “The Whale” is the very definition of tearjerker music. It’s perfectly effective, but some viewers might not like how everything is staged in the movie.

Some viewers will also be turned off by how the story is confined to one apartment where people argue and are sometimes awful to each other. But that’s the whole point: Charlie is “stuck” in more ways than one. And “The Whale,” like it or not, makes viewers feel what Charlie is feeling in this very confined space where he’s “stuck” and has to confront some very ugly and raw emotions. The movie also asks viewers to think about people like Charlie who are “stuck” and hide themselves away from a world that they think doesn’t want them anymore.

Many people could assume that the title of “The Whale” has to do with being a derogatory term about Charlie’s appearance. But the beauty of this story, which the filmmakers and cast members express so wonderfully, is that the title of “The Whale” is really about Charlie’s connection to that “Moby Dick” essay. It’s a connection about honesty and compassion that transcends anyone’s physical appearance.

A24 will release “The Whale” in select U.S. cinemas on December 9, 2022.

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