Heartland: The Mad Whale

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There have been many takes on Herman Melville’s epic novel “Moby Dick” in cinema, but “The Mad Whale” is perhaps the most unique and unexpected. Set at the turn of the century, “The Mad Whale” follows one doctor’s quest to bring Melville’s magnum opus to life in the world of a woman’s mental institution.

Doctor Benjamin Calhoun (Dominic Rains) is an outsider in the world he finds himself. Surrounded by doctors and nurses whose methods and treatment of the patients, Calhoun wants to try a new method of reaching the patients using his love for the theater.

As he begins holding auditions, the quest looks much more difficult than he first thought. Benjamin quickly realizes that finding his Ishmael and Ahab might be an impossible task.

He finds his Ishmael in Isabel Wallace (Camilla Belle), a woman who we first meet as she is plucked from her home and her daughter and is remanded to the asylum from wishes of her husband. Her crime is revealed late in the film and is a nice twist that reveals more about her life before she came to the asylum.

The play finally gets its Ahab in the shape of a former actress who murdered her husband. She is such a handful she’s been kept in isolation for more than a year. Beatrice Price (Summer Phoenix) is exactly what Benjamin had hoped for in Ahab, but she quickly begins pulling the strings revealing Benjamin’s true nature. As the play progresses it’s hard to tell who is madder – the women of the institution or their director.

After an encounter between Beatrice and Benjamin, the actress informs him that she will only perform for the famed theatrical producer and financier Edward Frye (James Franco) is in attendance. When informed that Benjamin has Beatrice Price in a production, Frye visits the asylum and quickly gives control to Price to head the production and slates it to debut at his own theater.

On the night of the performance, the patients mesmerize the audience with their performance and both Isabel and Beatrice find the freedom that has eluded them in the asylum.

I found “The Mad Whale” completely absorbing. Belle and Rains have a wonderful chemistry together and their ever-changing relationship makes the story even more taut. Rains makes the descent of Benjamin look effortless.

Franco only spends a few moments on the screen, but as always, I find him delightfully engaging. His devotion to making movies in a collaborative environment inspire an aspiring filmmaker.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Phoenix any time she was on screen. Her performance I found captivating and worthy of notice and the power pushed the story along. The film was strong, but the moments she was on screen, the intensity hit another level.

“The Mad Whale” is the first feature film from Elysium Bandini, a philanthropic studio from James Franco’s Rabbit Bandini and Jennifer Howell’s The Art of Elysium. It’s also a co-production with the USC School of Cinema and it clearly shows that big things can happen when creative people give freely with their talents. After watching “The Mad Whale,” I look forward to anything that comes from Elysium Bandini. It is what filmmaking should be – collaborative on all levels.

“The Mad Whale” is an intriguing film that is suffocating with its intensity and features a commanding performance from Phoenix that definitely makes it as a must-see.