The Whale (Aronofsky)

[ono]

I don't know why I chose to watch this randomly today.  I think it was one of those Google things where you catch something out of the corner of your eye and say "why not?"  That, and stomach bugs make for hasty decisions.  Requiem For a Dream was one of the first films I watched as a "cinephile".  I didn't know what to say about it except "ugh."  Watched Pi soon after and was disappointed.  Next thing I saw was Black Swan and I kinda wrote him off after that.  Much like Guillermo Del Toro, he's a a bad writer who doesn't know subtlety, and this kinds cements it.  I wanted to like this, I really did, but the last 10 seconds gave me whiplash and made me look back at what had transpired and made me think about how meh it all was (except for Liz).

[RudyBlatnoyd]

Aronofksy's films are pretty much all unintentional comedies, as far as I can see. Having said that, I like Noah - mostly because it's amusing to see a major studio give someone all that money to make something so nutty just because it's based on a Bible story and therefore seen as instantly bankable.

[WorldForgot]

Watched it last night as it's the only Aronofsky I hadn't seen yet.

It's not shot like a play, but it's still spoken like a play.

At the onset I was hopeful that cinematically it was going to be able to do more with the medium, but it stagnates in form so early. There's a shot of Charlie trying to get in bed while it's lightly raining outside, where the lighting indoors bounces off the harnesses and grips above his beds. They swing erratically as he tries to steady himself, giving the impression that he's in the den of a boat, nearly.

Wanted more of that from the movie. Favorite line was delivered by Sadie Sink

Spoiler: ShowHide

""What's more surprising—that a gay guy has a daughter, or that someone actually found his penis?"