The Whale - A more than deserved Oscar for Brendan Fraser

The love that destroys.
The love that drives away.
The love that leaves behind.
The love that condemns.
The love that keeps alive.
Redemptive love.
The love that saves.
The love that brings home.
The love that lightens the weight of guilt. For not having loved enough or for having loved too much.

Source

In the cramped and intimate environment of the apartment of an obese and lonely teacher and with a four thirds that makes everything more claustrophobic, Aronofsky declines every facet of possible love: that towards a daughter, a partner, a wife, of a friend, of one's students, of humanity. In one week, the story of the salvation of a man who does not want to be saved but saves himself by saving others. Apparently incomprehensible choices come out that take on another value and another meaning, simply by changing the point of view.

Redemption does not originate through a superior will but through an action that starts from below, from the human, from the imperfect and earthly will to do the right thing at least once in a lifetime. The starting point is honesty, with oneself and with others, the demolition of superstructures, of frills.
Lighten up, because at the end of the game the meaning of life is all about letting go. “Because people are wonderful and are not capable of not taking care of each other”, even if the modalities are understood only in hindsight. The divine is in man not outside man and that's where we should go back. At home.

That Brendan Fraser deserves the Oscar has already been said and there is no discussion. Aronofsky should also be recognized for his coherence in making a film that talks about salvation, in turn saving both Fraser and mankind, conveying the sense of concrete redemption, possible for everyone and close at hand. A salvation that takes into account the good as well as the evil that are often disguised and confused. Empathy, openness and the experience of listening are necessary to distinguish them and not to be deceived by evil masquerading as good and vice versa.

The excellence of the story lies in the perfect balance between cynicism and optimism, without leaning towards one or the other, but indulging one or the other based on the ups and downs of life that is right there, in the wonder of the discovery of nuances that we do not perceive immediately but that require more attention, more care. More love indeed.