What is she glad for? This story has been shared 6,491 times. The Whale Ending Explained#thewhale #thewhalea24 #a24Indiegogo Linkhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/minced-meatMake sure to like this video, subscribe to o. 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, When Does The Next New Episode of 'Yellowstone' Air on Paramount Network? Both the play and the movie The Whale center on Charlie (Brendan Fraser), a reclusive, morbidly obese instructor of online writing classes who has been eating himself to death since the passing of his lover, a casualty of religious homophobia. Alan was Lizs brother and was part of a New Life church that his father ran. Charlie cant walk on his own and never leaves his house. Throughout the intimate live piece which is staged without the escape of an intermission all five characters reveal truths to each other and the audience that raise the stakes of their potential bonds. Throughout The Whale, Charlie is visited by his estranged and troubled daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink) and his frustrated ex-wife, Mary (Samantha Morton), both of whom Charlie abandoned when he ended his marriage and came out as gay; Liz (Hong Chau), a conflicted caregiver who is also the sibling of Charlies late lover; and Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a fundamentalist missionary who is far from home. The last visual shows the sun shining, the tide rising and falling, and a younger, slimmer version of the lead character, Charlie, staring out into the ocean as his daughter plays in the sand behind him. Then with a gasp, Charlie floats off the floor and into a bright white light. Dont worry, Decider is here to help. While his life has not physically ended in that moment, I think that he knows he doesn't need to live any longer, which is why he takes off his breather, he's got her reading the essay, and he does take to his feet like three Olympic dead-lifters, takes his baby steps to his baby, and in that beautiful two-shot, a great white light appears, and they look skyward. Thank you for signing up to Whattowatch. Though Hunter didnt write the beach scene that follows Charlies onscreen ascension, he called it marvelous and shared an interpretation of what it might mean: If its a flashback to the last time Charlie went swimming in the ocean, close to when the family fell apart, what I see in that shot is a man staring down the abyss of self-actualization, contemplating the decision he has to make about the different avenues he can take. In the meantime, Ellie says she hates Charlie and leaves with the essay he wrote for her. ", "He's struggling this entire film to put a mirror up to his daughter to say, 'This is who you are,' and in those final moments, that mirror is this essay," Hunter explains. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Not only that, but its the latest film from acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky, who previously helmed Black Swan, The Wrestler, Requiem For A Dream, and more. Corsage Is an Intimate, Imaginative Portrait of an Empress, 12 Hospital Positions That Require Little Experience, Inside Tips From Past WGU Test-Takers: Passing Your Exam Made Easy, What You Need to Know About the University of Phoenix Settlement, Comparing California Institute of Technology and MIT, 10 Fun and Exciting Things to Do Near Illinois Institute of Technology. The writer also finds the chapters which spend pages describing the whale boring and as an English teacher, Charlie finds the honesty refreshing. Charlie begs her to read her essay to him, and she relents. Yes. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Fraser gave his interpretation on the . Liz and Ellies mother, Mary (Samantha Morton), show up and discover that Ellie has drugged her father. Despite how cruel Ellie is to Charlie, he insists she is an amazing person. YouTube/A24 Over the course of The Whale, we learn that Charlie ended his. policy 2023 TheReviewGeek. Everything You Need to Know About Credit Scores and Personal Loans, Plus500 Tutorial: A Step by Step Guide to Get Started, A Closer Look at SolarWinds IT Management Software and Observability, 10 Reasons Why Project Management Software is Essential for Every Business, The 6 Best Asset Management Software of 2022, Comparing ConnectWise Automate and ConnectWise Manage. He says that Alan didnt live for the spirit but in the flesh aka committing homosexuality which is why he died. They spend a few days getting to know each other, though Ellie rarely pulls back on her anger toward him and even gives him Ambien to knock him out. Season 5 Return Date Info, Love 'Yellowstone'? March 1, 2023, 12:58 p.m. 'The Skinny Shot' on Hulu Is An Ozempic "Documentary" That Plays More Like A Commercial, Where Is Estonia Located? The Whale is based on a play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter, and Aronofsky's adaptation does a good job of reflecting the intimacy of a stage performance. Liz, however, is not pleased by Thomas' visits and dissuades him from returning by revealing that she and Alan were adopted by the Church leader, and it was Alan's inability to reconcile his sexuality with his faith that contributed to his death. ASXPAC But he asks her to read the essay which she angrily does. He says he wants to save at least one person and thought it could be Charlie. Hunter doesnt shy away from any of the issues the characters are dealing with but doesnt bury you in [them] either, said Martin Benson, who directed a 2013 staging at South Coast Repertory. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. He rashly posts a prompt on his students online message board, challenging them to write something honest. Ellie says to call an ambulance, but Charlie replies, No. Ellie asks to speak to Charlie alone, and although Liz doesnt want to leave Charlie, she agrees. The Whale Explained | Ending + Plot Details | Brendan Fraser The Nerd Doc 9.5K subscribers Subscribe 1.3K Save 77K views 2 months ago #TheWhale #BrendanFraser #EndingExplained Almost yours: 2. With a massive effort, Charlie walks toward Ellie. Depending on your belief system, spiritually or otherwise, we see that Charlie with a touch of magic realism finally does fly. 1,059, This story has been shared 1,025 times. Still, star Brendan Fraser has been nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award, alongside his co-star Hong Chau as Best Supporting Actor. Ellie once again visits Charlie and demands that he write her essay assignment. He wanted to truly help people and thought personal interactions would be better. (Get it? NAME As written in Hunters script, the stage directions of that breath simply read, A sharp intake of breath. Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here. When Liz arrives and sees this (with Ellie's mom), she learns that Charlie convinced Ellie to spend time with him by offering the money. The Whale is not based on a true story. As he is told he is dying, Charlie reaches out to Ellie who shows up and is constantly rude to him. 4,515, This story has been shared 3,273 times. The following contains spoilers from the movie The Whale, now playing in theaters. Hunter, who also adapted the screenplay for film, based the story on his own experience with obesity in college. Liz brings Charlie a wheelchair to help him move around his house. She tells him to go to the hospital and he says the money is for Ellie. Brendan Fraser as Charlie in The Whale. When it comes to the most anticipated movies of 2022, theres simply no way audiences can ignore The Whale. Why an Aviation Management Degree is Important? Liz is furious that Charlie has refused to buy the medical care and equipment he needs, and storms out. Read on for an analysis of The Whale plot summary and ending explained, including what happens at the end of The Whale, and whether Charlie dies. Unfortunately, well never know. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. When Charlie goes to retrieve it, the delivery guy sticks around to see Charlie for the first time and his look of shock drives Charlie into an eating binge. He keeps his camera off, telling his students that his webcam is broken. Is TorFX the Right Choice for Your Currency Exchange Needs? Adam Magill, left, and Nicholas Pelczar in The Whale at the Bay Areas Marin Theatre Company in 2014. The intention is that, by the time Charlie shares that hes giving his life savings to Ellie, and endures great pain to stand up and walk toward her as she reads her Moby-Dick essay aloud to him, the audience would feel the overwhelming fulfillment Charlie gets during his final breath in the play. Liz is frustrated that Charlie did not choose to use this money for his medical expenses. 5,514, This story has been shared 4,515 times. Another visitor of Charlies is Thomas, a door-to-door missionary from an evangelical church called New Life. Charlie tells Ellie he wanted to be part of her life, but that her mother forbade him from seeing her. NOTICE: Spoilers ahead for The whale. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 1) The Last Of Us Episode 5 Recap & Review, 2) The Interest Of Love Episode 16 Recap, Review & Ending Explained, 6) Crash Course in Romance Episode 9 Recap & Review, 8) Magic Mikes Last Dance Ending Explained, 10) You Season 4 Episode 1 Recap & Review. We learn that Lizs brother, Alan, was Charlies romantic partner, as well as a member of the New Life church. So in that final moment, whatever flaws he had, whatever mistakes he made and in whatever ways he couldnt love himself enough, he lived a life redeemed, because he gave everything to save his daughter.. Want more movie news? The accolades it has garnered already, however, have piqued people's interests. "When she looks at it, she can't deny turning it in and getting a D, but then, here's her father, all these years later, being like, 'This is the best essay I've ever read.' Its a brilliant ending, because audience members have constantly told me they couldnt breathe afterwards. 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It also could be considered in a metaphorical way, mimicking how whales immerse themselves for so long underwater and then they finally come up to the surface, said Schultz, or a deep intake of breath before diving in somewhere theyve never gone before, said Shuler Hensley, who played Charlie in the New York run as well as a London staging in 2018. And while he was lonely and tired, he did not want to come back home as his father had arranged his marriage to a girl he did not know. . Liz's concern is two-fold, for she is the sister of Charlie's partner Alan, who died by suicide. There was a problem. Both the play and the movie "The Whale" center on Charlie (Brendan Fraser), a reclusive, morbidly obese instructor of online writing classes who has been eating himself to death since the passing of his lover, a casualty of religious homophobia. Editor's Note: The following are spoilers for The Whale. PUBLIC In his final webinar class, Charlie reveals he has been fired. The way its structured, this play is designed to slowly and repeatedly turn up the pressure until it almost cant be tolerated, said Davis McCallum, who directed a 2012 off-Broadway staging at Playwrights Horizons. During one of her visits, Ellie drugs Charlie and while he's asleep Thomas arrives, and the two bond over a joint. ET. Thomas confesses that while he used to be a missionaryafter his parents sent him away to the church when they discovered him smoking pothe grew frustrated with the churchs lack of social outreach and felt he wasnt truly helping people. companies Hes not advocating anything, hes just writing what he believes is true., These characters and their concerns are similar to those in Hunters other plays, which tackle subjects fundamental to Greek tragedy: the limitation of humanitys vision, the place of religion in society and the desperate longing for relief from the lonely uncertainty of life, wrote Times critic Charles McNulty when Hunter received the MacArthur genius grant in 2014. Daren Aronofsky directed The Whale, which in addition to Fraser and Sink stars Hong Chau (The Menu), Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World) and Samantha Morton (The Serpent Queen). Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. It is later revealed that the essay was written by his daughter, Ellie. Liz is distraught, both at Charlie's unwillingness to help himself but also at his reticence to help her, and she leaves but not before Mary arrives to chastise him for bending to Ellie's will. If we really want to address these issues, weve got to get serious, says Farid. Mary had sent it to him and he apologizes for leaving Ellie and describes her and the essay as amazing. I had a lot of unprocessed emotions from attending a fundamentalist Christian school where my sexuality came to bear in an ugly way, and that emerged in an unhealthy relationship with food. Whats New with RingCentral? CMPNY Because the movie is so bleak, I choose to interpret it as Ellie feeling grateful for both her mother and her father, who love her. He asks her to read it, and she realises that it is the essay on Moby Dick she had written back in 8th grade. A New Life based on a true story essay he wrote for.... ' Return Date Info, When does the Next New Episode of 'Yellowstone ' the... 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