The Whale

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1:50

The Whale

R

Released Dec 21, 2022

1h 57m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

347 Reviews

91%

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1,000+ Verified Ratings

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

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Critics Consensus

Held together by a killer Brendan Fraser, The Whale sings a song of empathy that will leave most viewers blubbering.

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Audience Says

With a heartbreaking story brought powerfully to life by Brendan Fraser's starring performance, The Whale's as hard to watch as it is to look away from.

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Christina Newland

iNews.co.uk

...a very authentically felt and still-uncomfortable topic from such a saddening standpoint.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 18, 2024

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Udita Jhunjhunwala

Livemint

Charlie [is] played brilliantly by Brendan Fraser...

Jun 2, 2023

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Jenny Nulf

Austin Chronicle

There’s nothing consciously sinister about THE WHALE’s use of Charlie’s eating disorder (the original play was, in fact, written from experience), but Aronofsky’s adaptation is cruel, not just to Charlie’s character, but to all of them.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 21, 2023

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Julian Singleton

Cinapse

With his new film, Aronofsky recognizes how agonizing grief and guilt may be, but that the rewards of redemption are worth far more than any possible act of retribution.

Jul 11, 2025

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Guillem Martinez Oya

Cinematismo

A film about how we deal with trauma in our social interactions. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 10, 2025

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Joseph Tomastik

Loud and Clear Reviews

This is a film that will slowly beat your heart down, begin to rebuild it, and then break it again, before finally leaving it in an achingly bittersweet place.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 2, 2024

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Nick

Brendan Frasers performance is lives up to the hype.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/15/23

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Jim P

It was a great movie as far as the content.. We feel the language could have been cleaned up and it would have still been a great movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/28/23

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Andrea

Spectacular film that took us through a range of emotions for full depth of the human experience.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/24/23

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Leo

The 'Whale' was fabulous. Acting by alll characters was well done. Story line touching and deeply analyzes dysfunctional familly.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/23

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April

Im not sure how I feel about the movie. The actors were great but it was a depressing and hard to watch him eat.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/21/23

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Susie R

I really liked this movie, it was very moving at the end, had me in tears!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/20/23

Full Review

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Darren Aronofsky

Director

Brendan Fraser

Actor

Sadie Sink

Actor

Hong Chau

Actor

Ty Simpkins

Actor

Samantha Morton

Actor

The Whale: Movie Clip - You Left Me

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The Whale: Movie Clip - People Are Amazing

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The Whale: Featurette - Charlie

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The Whale: Trailer 2

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The Whale: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Screenwriter: Samuel D. Hunter
Distributor: A24
Production Co: Protozoa Pictures
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 21, 2022, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 21, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.2M
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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