Chronic

David sits in his car outside a house as a young woman leaves, gets into her car, and drives off. He follows her, beginning his covert interest in the woman who will later be revealed as Nadia Wilson. This moment sets the tone of his obsessive behavior.

Later, David is seen looking at photos of Nadia Wilson on Facebook, revealing that his interest in the woman is more than casual stalking. The social media glimpse foreshadows a deeper personal connection that will reveal itself later in the story. Nadia is the woman he has been following.

David works as a nurse and tends to Sarah, who is dying of AIDS. He bathes and dresses her, manages her daily activities, and creates space for her to rest while handling the practicalities of caregiving. His tenderness frames his character during this early caregiving phase.

David enters the room where Sarah has died and cleans and dresses her for the final time. He attends her funeral and keeps his emotions in check when her niece asks to discuss her aunt, which he declines. The goodbye underscores the personal toll of his caregiving work.

In a bar, David chats with a recently engaged young woman. He reveals that he was married for 21 years and that his wife, also named Sarah, died of AIDS. The conversation adds depth to his backstory and his capacity for connection and secrecy.

David is assigned to care for John, an elderly stroke victim and architect who grows fond of his caregiver. John allows him to watch porn on his laptop, and David buys architecture books and presents John with a house picture as a birthday gift. The relationship reveals a troubling dynamic that foreshadows later conflicts.

Robert calls David to the agency, where he learns that John’s family is suing the agency for sexual harassment. The suit centers on John watching porn and an erection during bathing. David denies the charges but acknowledges that he worked extra shifts because of his attachment to John. John’s daughter then asks him to leave.

It is revealed that David had a young son who died and that the girl he had been following, Nadia, is actually his daughter who is studying medicine in college. This twist reframes his prior fixation and ties his personal grief to the present.

David meets his daughter Nadia and his ex wife, who has remarried but is now divorced after four years. The reunion brings his private history into the foreground and shifts his emotional focus.

Isaac, David's friend and former boss, arranges a job for him with Martha, who has cancer and needs support for chemotherapy appointments. She tells him she knows about the sexual harassment suit but hires him anyway. David supports her through treatment as her condition worsens.

As Martha's cancer spreads, she lies to her daughter that the cancer is in remission and asks David to help her die; he refuses and she fires him. He later returns to her house and injects her, contributing to her death, and calls Isaac to report that she died of cardiac arrest.

David takes on Greg, a 16 year old boy who uses a wheelchair, for a one week assignment. He discusses Greg with Nadia and later takes Greg to the park, where the boy swears at him, illustrating mounting personal strain. His life spirals toward a tragedy as he is killed soon after.

David jogs outdoors while his life unravels, and he is struck dead by a car as he glances toward oncoming traffic. The sudden accident ends his troubled arc and underscores the film's themes of inevitability and consequence.