“The Whale”

The other fantastic movie I saw this year is The Whale.

I have been hearing about The Whale for a while. I passed by its memorable poster almost every day. But I didn’t want to see it at first, despite of my full awareness of its acclaim. Primarily because, after a glance at the synopsis, I was made abundantly clear of the uncompromising poignancy in the film. Whereas I need no extra self-suffering experiences in life.

So I have avoided the film for months. But I eventually stumbled on it when I was on a flight to Denver. The Whale, surprisingly, warms me rather than triggers me.

Charlie, an overweighted teacher, spends all his time indoor at an oblivious apartment in rural Idaho. He could barely walk outside the door. He makes a living through teaching online English classes -- without opening the camera or showing his face. Liz is the only person who visits and voluntarily takes care of Charlie on a consistent basis. As the narrative unfolds, Liz is the sister of Alan, Charlie’s gay lover who commits suicide years ago. Charlie, as the consequence of living free in a heavily Christian ambience, is estranged by his wife and daughter. He becomes bulimic, obese, and sick. Charlie indulges on pizza delivery, throws up everything that he just eats, and struggles to stand up without assistance. He has one last wish to be fulfilled before his death: to listen to Ellie, his estranged daughter, reading her essay from elementary school:

“In the amazing book, Moby Dick, by the author Herman Melville, the author recounts his story of being at sea. In the first part of his book, the author, calling himself Ishmael, is in a small seaside town and he is sharing a bed with a man named Queequeg. The author and Queequeg go to church and later set out on a ship captained by a pirate named Ahab, who is missing a leg, and very much wants to kill the whale which is named Moby Dick, and which is white. 

In the course of the book, the pirate Ahab encounters many hardships. His entire life is set around trying to kill a certain whale. I think this is sad because this whale doesn’t have any emotions, and doesn’t know how bad Ahab wants to kill him. He’s just a poor big animal. And I feel bad for Ahab as well, because he thinks that his life will be better if he can just kill this whale, but in reality, it won’t help him at all. 

I was very saddened by this book, and I felt many emotions for the characters. And I felt saddest of all when I read the boring chapters that were only descriptions of whales, because I knew that the author was just trying to save us from his own sad story, just for a little while. This book made me think about my own life, and then it made me feel glad for my…”

The other line in the film centers on Thomas, a young missionary who allegedly leaves for Idaho to inspire the youths. He stumbles on Charlie, the reclusive patient on the edge of death. Thomas is actually a fugitive who steals money of his local church. Riven with guilt and regret, Thomas is ambivalent of the giant lacuna between the sacredness of his faith and the profanity of his conduct. Thomas wants to save others through the church. Now he has to flee from the church that probably disappoints the attempts to salvage people.

The film implies that, Charlie’s gay lover, Alan, confronts similar crisis before he throws himself into the river. We as the audience may imagine that Alan, a faithful Christian, also feel contradicted by his sexual identity and the values that the community he grows up at. He probably had expected salvation from the religion before he was split by the unresolvable contradiction between his conviction and gender identity.

The only wish that Charlie wants to fulfill is to reconnect with Ellie before he dies.

The film ends with an optimistic note: Thomas decides to return to his home church, Ellie helps Charlie to stand, and Charlie feels himself lifted up.

Liz: I don't think I believe anyone can save anyone.

Maybe, or maybe not.