Loved this film. Uncontrollable sobbing overtook me, even 10 minutes after the credits were finished. Fraser brought to life such a believable and sympathetic character, that throughout the entire movie I kept randomly crying over how touching and real his performance was as the morbidly obese shut-in English teacher, battling his demons.
I know many people see this movie mainly as being one that centers around addiction and the far-reaching consequences of them. However, the real message of this film seems to be a more subtle lesson of "man's search for meaning in a world of deceptive appearances and fatal delusions," which is how Laurie Robertson-Lorant described MOBY DICK, a novel which the movie heavily references.
Throughout the movie we are shown all of the characters' strengths and contradicting flaws. Charlie believes that everyone is good and worthy of love, except himself. Liz is forgiving of Charlie and empathizes with his illness, yet also enables it, perhaps even in a passive-aggressive manner as subconscious revenge for her brother's death. Ellie is called "evil" by her own mother and is considered the social pariah in high school, however she ends up saving Thomas and reuniting him with his family. All Thomas wants to do is "help," but ends up hurting Charlie in the worst way, insinuating that God punished him and Alan for being gay. Mary is an overprotective mother who wants the best for her daughter, yet denies her access to the only thing which would bring her normalcy, that being her father. And even the pizza guy Dan is a person who wants to reach out and befriend his repeat customer, but upon seeing Charlie's physical appearance, Dan is disgusted and immediately regrets breaking their unspoken privacy pact.
Aronofsky does an excellent job, too, using misdirection to fool us into focusing on the characters' flaws when their strengths are actually being shown, and vice versa. For example, Charlie tells Ellie that he keeps his webcam off so his students won't see what he looks like. Aronofsky utilizes subtle camera angles and tense situations to make us suspect that Ellie will secretly change the webcam settings on his camera in order to accidentally expose his appearance to his students. Ellie also takes candid photos of people without their permission, records their private confessions, and even drugs them with Ambien. However, Ellie never does anything malicious to her father while he is asleep (we are led to believe in some way she drugged him in an act of compassion), even though the laptop is right in plain view. And her candid photos and recording of Thomas only serve as his liberation later on.
It is also interesting to watch how each character has their own successful path, even though what's right for one character isn't necessarily right or deemed appropriate by another. For example, Charlie believes that giving his life savings to his daughter and accepting death is his path. He does not want nor need God or anyone else to save him. Thomas believes that God is the reason for all things, and that through God's power Ellie saved Thomas and reunited him with his family. Both of Charlie and Thomas truly believe in their individual paths with resounding conviction, and if we would try to interchange their paths, we would produce utter failure. Even though religion is what indirectly led Charlie to his demise (ie his partner committing suicide because he wasn't accepted by his family and the church for being gay), religion is what ends up saving Thomas. Even though Thomas wasn't very honest with himself and his life's desires, honesty is what saved Charlie's relationship with his daughter and let him die with peace and contentment. It is also important to note that Thomas possessed wisdom that Charlie lacked (ie "It's only money!"), while Charlie knew all too well that "no one can save anyone."
I also loved so many of the references and symbolism that tied into MOBY DICK. From focusing on various similar themes such as fate and free will, defiance, appearance vs reality, and religion, to the ending scene with the harpoon effect of pulling Charlie closer to Ellie and his own demise while she reads her essay, the movie does an excellent job with paralleling the novel in various ways.
Overall, this was an extremely powerful and moving film. The acting performances and writing were deeply moving, and the direction was well paced and carefully constructed. Also, the special effects and makeup were incredible, which made me smile, remembering back to earlier times when CGI wasn't the answer for "trompe l'oeil."
I know many people see this movie mainly as being one that centers around addiction and the far-reaching consequences of them. However, the real message of this film seems to be a more subtle lesson of "man's search for meaning in a world of deceptive appearances and fatal delusions," which is how Laurie Robertson-Lorant described MOBY DICK, a novel which the movie heavily references.
Throughout the movie we are shown all of the characters' strengths and contradicting flaws. Charlie believes that everyone is good and worthy of love, except himself. Liz is forgiving of Charlie and empathizes with his illness, yet also enables it, perhaps even in a passive-aggressive manner as subconscious revenge for her brother's death. Ellie is called "evil" by her own mother and is considered the social pariah in high school, however she ends up saving Thomas and reuniting him with his family. All Thomas wants to do is "help," but ends up hurting Charlie in the worst way, insinuating that God punished him and Alan for being gay. Mary is an overprotective mother who wants the best for her daughter, yet denies her access to the only thing which would bring her normalcy, that being her father. And even the pizza guy Dan is a person who wants to reach out and befriend his repeat customer, but upon seeing Charlie's physical appearance, Dan is disgusted and immediately regrets breaking their unspoken privacy pact.
Aronofsky does an excellent job, too, using misdirection to fool us into focusing on the characters' flaws when their strengths are actually being shown, and vice versa. For example, Charlie tells Ellie that he keeps his webcam off so his students won't see what he looks like. Aronofsky utilizes subtle camera angles and tense situations to make us suspect that Ellie will secretly change the webcam settings on his camera in order to accidentally expose his appearance to his students. Ellie also takes candid photos of people without their permission, records their private confessions, and even drugs them with Ambien. However, Ellie never does anything malicious to her father while he is asleep (we are led to believe in some way she drugged him in an act of compassion), even though the laptop is right in plain view. And her candid photos and recording of Thomas only serve as his liberation later on.
It is also interesting to watch how each character has their own successful path, even though what's right for one character isn't necessarily right or deemed appropriate by another. For example, Charlie believes that giving his life savings to his daughter and accepting death is his path. He does not want nor need God or anyone else to save him. Thomas believes that God is the reason for all things, and that through God's power Ellie saved Thomas and reunited him with his family. Both of Charlie and Thomas truly believe in their individual paths with resounding conviction, and if we would try to interchange their paths, we would produce utter failure. Even though religion is what indirectly led Charlie to his demise (ie his partner committing suicide because he wasn't accepted by his family and the church for being gay), religion is what ends up saving Thomas. Even though Thomas wasn't very honest with himself and his life's desires, honesty is what saved Charlie's relationship with his daughter and let him die with peace and contentment. It is also important to note that Thomas possessed wisdom that Charlie lacked (ie "It's only money!"), while Charlie knew all too well that "no one can save anyone."
I also loved so many of the references and symbolism that tied into MOBY DICK. From focusing on various similar themes such as fate and free will, defiance, appearance vs reality, and religion, to the ending scene with the harpoon effect of pulling Charlie closer to Ellie and his own demise while she reads her essay, the movie does an excellent job with paralleling the novel in various ways.
Overall, this was an extremely powerful and moving film. The acting performances and writing were deeply moving, and the direction was well paced and carefully constructed. Also, the special effects and makeup were incredible, which made me smile, remembering back to earlier times when CGI wasn't the answer for "trompe l'oeil."
Tell Your Friends