The Whale

Charlie teaches online English writing courses with his webcam turned off, never showing his face. He rarely leaves his Moscow, Idaho apartment and relies on routines to cope with his morbid obesity. His isolation sets the stage for the emotional unraveling to come.

Liz, his nurse and sole confidant, brings him unhealthy food and reinforces his isolation. She contradicts herself by urging him to go to a hospital while Charlie insists he cannot afford medical care. The dynamic shows a caretaker's love tangled with enabling dependence.

Thomas visits Charlie, intent on saving him through faith and intervention. Charlie remains resistant, clinging to routines and avoiding real change. The encounter highlights the tension between outsider intervention and Charlie's self-destructive coping.

Ellie visits and offers to spend time with him if he hands over the entire $120,000 in his bank account, and she will do all of her homework for him while recording it in a notebook. The plan exposes Ellie’s manipulation and Charlie’s longing to reconnect with her. The moment underscores the precarious line between love, debt, and control.

As Charlie's health worsens, Liz arranges a wheelchair so he can stay mobile. He continues to binge on unhealthy meals and isolates further, shrinking his world to deliveries and online classes. The looming physical decline foreshadows the emotional collapse ahead.

During a tense moment, Liz explains that she is the adopted daughter of New Life Church's head pastor and that Alan's suicide drove Charlie toward emotional eating. The revelation reframes Charlie's past and his current dependence on food as a coping mechanism. It also intensifies Liz's sense of betrayal about the money saved for Ellie.

Ellie secretly crushes Ambien into Charlie's food, knocking him out. Thomas arrives, and the two smoke marijuana while Ellie photographs. Thomas confesses to stealing his youth group's money and running away from home because he felt unsatisfied with New Life's mission.

Out of concern, Liz brings Charlie's ex-wife Mary to visit. Mary learns how much Charlie has saved for Ellie and confronts the deception, fueling a confrontation about trust and past choices. The meeting deepens Charlie's isolation and the weight of his secrets.

Dan, the pizza delivery driver, delivers Charlie's pizza and waits outside in the rain. He finally sees Charlie in person and is shaken by the sight, signaling the collapse of the routine both rely on. The moment crystallizes the distance between Charlie and his world.

That night, Charlie has a severe binge-eating episode and sends a profanity-laden email to his students, telling them to disregard classwork and just write him back 'something honest.' He abandons the pretence of being an effective teacher and embraces raw confession. The act foreshadows the impending breakdown.

Thomas visits again to inform Charlie that he is moving back home after Ellie transmitted his confession to his former youth group and family, who have forgiven him and urged his return. He attempts to offer Romans 8:13 as guidance, but Charlie rejects the preaching. The encounter marks a final interruption before the climactic reckoning.

During his next class, Charlie turns on his webcam for the first time and reads some of the students' honest submissions aloud. He declares that academics and college do not matter, and that the honesty of his students matters more. He ends the class by throwing his laptop against the fridge, destroying it.

Ellie arrives as Charlie's health rapidly declines. Ellie reads the paper aloud, exposing the 'honest' essay Charlie kept, and Charlie stands up and moves toward her without assistance. In a final, surreal moment, he levitates, engulfed in a bright white light.