The Whale

In early 2016, Charlie teaches online writing courses but keeps his webcam off. He isolates himself in his Moscow, Idaho apartment, ashamed of his morbid obesity. The online class becomes his only link to the outside world as he avoids real-life interactions.

Charlie's nurse and only friend, Liz, brings him unhealthy food and contradicts herself by urging him to visit a hospital for treatment he cannot afford. She enables his routine while worrying about his health, creating a push-pull dynamic. This tension keeps him trapped in his unhealthy cycle.

Charlie orders pizza almost every night through a fixed routine with the delivery driver Dan. Dan leaves the pizza on the porch and collects cash from the mailbox, and the two never meet face-to-face. The nightly ritual underscores Charlie's isolation and dependence on unhealthy food.

Charlie hopes to reconnect with his estranged daughter Ellie and offers the entire $120,000 he has saved. Ellie agrees to spend time with him only if he does all of her homework and writes in a notebook she gives him. The arrangement sets up a precarious bargain that binds their fragile relationship.

Thomas, a missionary for New Life Church, visits Charlie again and continues his well-meaning but misguided efforts. Liz reveals she is the adopted daughter of New Life's head pastor and that Ellie's brother Alan died under guilt-driven circumstances. Charlie's coping with grief through food is framed as a consequence of family secrets.

Ellie secretly crushes Ambien into Charlie's food, knocking him out. Thomas arrives, and the two smoke marijuana, which Ellie photographs. Ellie secretly records their conversation, capturing Thomas confessing to stealing funds from his youth group and fleeing his home.

Out of concern, Liz brings Charlie's wife Mary to visit. Mary learns about the amount Charlie has saved for Ellie and confronts him about the deception. The confrontation deepens the emotional stakes and unsettles the already fragile family dynamics.

Mary argues with Charlie about his decision to leave his family for Alan, while she remains exasperated by Ellie's sardonic demeanor. The disagreement exposes the rift between the parents and the daughter. Tensions mount as trust erodes further.

After delivering the pizza in the rain, Dan finally sees Charlie for the first time and is shaken by his appearance. The encounter marks a moment where the outside world becomes aware of Charlie's deteriorating condition. The shock hints at the consequences of his isolation.

Charlie experiences a severe binge-eating episode and sends a profanity-laden email to his students, telling them to ignore the classwork and write him back honestly. The message reveals his fragile mental state and the harmful impact of his situation on his professional duties. Students respond with raw honesty, breaking through his online persona.

Thomas visits one last time to say he is moving back home after Ellie sent his confession to his former youth group. He attempts to preach Romans 8:13 to Charlie, but Charlie rebukes him for blaming Alan's death on his sexual orientation. The confrontation intensifies Charlie's anger and unresolved guilt.

During his next class, Charlie reveals he is being fired for the email he sent and reads some of the students' honest submissions. He finally turns on his webcam for the first time, inviting real reactions from his students. He proclaims that academics don't matter, only honesty, and ends the class by tossing his laptop against the fridge, destroying it.

Liz returns and comforts Charlie as his health rapidly declines. Ellie arrives to confront him about the failing grade and the supposedly rewritten essay. Ellie reads the original eighth-grade essay aloud at Charlie's urging, and they share a quiet, hopeful moment as a bridge toward reconciliation.

Charlie stands and walks toward Ellie without assistance, an achievement he could not reach earlier in the story. He is then enveloped in a bright white light and levitates, signaling a surreal, hopeful culmination of his journey toward honesty and connection.