Recently I had the opportunity to drag myself out of the sorry excuse of an apartment I call home and travel to the local theater where I enjoyed a large popcorn, slushy, and recently Oscar-acclaimed film, The Whale. This movie has been propped up on the excitement of the return of award-winning actor, Brendan Fraser. This and the always-pleasing studio A24 created a supercell storm of beautiful cinematography and heart-wrenching acting that left me with a single tear running down my cheek.
The movie is a powerful meditation on the effect of loss on the mental and physical psyche that on a surface level tells the story of a morbidly obese man on a quest to reconnect with his daughter as his death is imminent. The movie successfully transforms Fraser's character from a - for lack of a better word - grotesque man failing to take control of his life, into a hero in which the audience can see their own insecurities. The studio accomplishes this by letting the viewer witness the constant mental battle plaguing the antagonist.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the movie for me was the way The Whale
used the setting (Fraser’s apartment) to inform the audience of Fraser’s emotional backdrop and subconscious. His apartment is a clutter of assisted living equipment, old leather-bound novels (his apparent passion), and a plethora of plastic sealed high in sugar snacks. The apartment at first seems too disorganized and depressing to be relevant to the story, however after taking a second look it becomes abundantly clear that the setting undergoes slight changes that reflect Fraser’s character as he moves along the storyline. The differences over time are subtle but stick out after more than one watch, most notably in the lighting and the change in the clutter surrounding Fraser.
Putting the effect of this set into perspective, one comparable piece is Giovannis Room by James Baldwin. The book tells the story of an American man living in Paris trapped in a love affair with a young man named Giovanni. There are similarities between the two stories in that both deal with sexuality and anxiety. Like The Whale, Giovannis Room focuses on the setting of Giovanni's bedroom and how it changes as the main character David’s relationship with him evolves and eventually comes to an end. One such line in the book gives a description of Giovanni’s room that contextualizes the deeper meaning of how the perspective of the setting reflects the characters' emotions, the main character David thinks to himself, “I remember that life in that room seemed to be occurring beneath the sea. Time flowed passed indifferently above us; hours and days had no meaning.” We see here that the way the character can perceive their surroundings can give insight into how they are feeling. Like how David currently feels in a state of bliss when he is in the room with Giovanni. They spend time together with no regard for anything but themselves in their own little world. The Whale shows similar feelings in that Fraser's character is content in his own little world completely secluded from the outside world until he decides to open his life to his daughter. At this point in the movie, the setting takes on a new light. There is more natural light flooding the apartment and as his daughter begins to spend more time with him, the rooms constantly become brighter and have a more comfortable appearance.
Both The Whale and Giovannis Room are not the pioneers of setting used to convey the character's emotions and mental state however they have transcended this and taken it to a whole new beautiful level. If you're looking for something to watch and don't mind shedding a few tears in the theater, I urge you my readers to watch The Whale and see for yourself.
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