History Film / TheWhale

* BigEater: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} and PlayedForDrama. Charlie frequently binges on unhealthy foods despite his overall health, to the concern of his nurse Liz. He even has an infamous BingeMontage that ends with a VomitIndiscretionShot. It turns out that Charlie's binge eating is [[FreudianExcuse a coping mechanism for his traumatic experiences]], most notably losing his partner, Alan, to suicide several years prior.

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in Ellie. She is rude, standoffish, and confrontational until the last moments of the movie, when Charlie finally breaks down her defenses. [[TheBully Cyberbullying]] is also a thing with her, as shown when she fat shames her own father on the internet. Her mother says she has done that to several people several times over; she recently got suspended for threatening someone online.

* GentleGiant: Charlie is both very tall and very fat, and he's relentlessly kind toward everyone but himself, even when others aren't kind to him.

* MostWritersAreWriters: Although Charlie is a teacher, he teaches classes on literature, and is obsessed with helping Ellie improve her grades in English. He also has a fascination with an analysis of ''Literature/MobyDick''.

* TeensAreMonsters: Ellie exemplifies this trope. She has severe behavioral issues, including cyberbullying, drug use, and blackmailing. She was even suspended from school for her behavior; her grades have suffered as a result.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Charlie cracks up when he sees what Ellie wrote and realizes it's a haiku. He also looks to be on the very of laughter when he sees what his daughter said about him online.

* SpringtimeForHitler: {{Implied|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Ellie reports Thomas' secret to the latter's family, to which they manage to reconcile with him through forgiveness. Charlie interprets this as Ellie doing him a favor, but her nasty attitude throughout most of the film suggests that it was actually a misfire of her trying to humiliate Thomas out of amusement, as [[EvilCannotComprehendGood she didn't consider the possibility that they might want to reconcile with him after all]].]]

* SpringtimeForHitler: {{Implied|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Ellie reports Thomas' secret to the latter's family. In turn, they manage to reconcile with Thomas through forgiveness. While Charlie interprets this as Ellie doing him a favor, given her attitude throughout most of the film, it could also be seen as an unsuccessful attempt at humiliating Thomas.]]

* YouAreFat: Charlie is frequently fat-shamed by Ellie, who has even posted about his weight on social media.

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Exaggerated in Ellie. She's rude, standoffish, and confrontational until the last moments of the movie, when Charlie finally breaks down her defenses. [[TheBully Cyberbullying]] is also a thing with her, as shown when she fat shames her own father on the internet. Her mother says she's done that to several people several times over, and she recently got suspended for threatening someone online.

* ChekhovsSkill: Early on, Ellie says that she never forgets anything. [[spoiler: At the end, when we find out the significance of the ''Moby Dick'' analysis, she instantly remembers it as something she wrote years ago]].

** Played straight with Charlie, who [[ExtremeDoormat puts up with Ellie's attitude]] due to both his depression and immobilized state.

** While it still doesn't justify her horrible behavior, Ellie's resentment towards Charlie is rather understandable given the latter abandoned her alongside her mother when she was only a child. Charlie admits he was wrong.

* AbusiveOffspring: Ellie. She steals from and is sporadically physically abusive towards her mother. She also physically abuses her disabled father, throwing away his walking frame and drugging him (which could've killed him due to his illnesses), cyberbullying him by shaming him online, and being constantly belligerent and demeaning to him, both for his weight and sexuality. She also [[LackOfEmpathy shows no remorse]] for any of this.

* AbusiveOffspring: Ellie. She steals from and is sporadically physically abusive towards her mother. She also physically abuses her disabled father, throwing away his walking frame and drugging him (which could've killed him due to his illnesses), cyberbullying him by shaming him online, and being constantly belligerent and demeaning to him, both for his weight and sexuality. She also shows no remorse for any of this.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Subverted. Even though Thomas turns out to be homophobic and it's the result of growing up in a staunchly Christian community, he does not bear any ill will towards Charlie. This contrasts him with...

** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Mary. Aside from telling Ellie off when the latter keeps acting up at Charlie's place, she doesn't seem to do much else about her behavioral issues (like take her to a mental hospital or have her seek therapy) and instead abuses drugs and [[DrowningMySorrows alcohol]] as a coping mechanism.

* StrugglingSingleMother: It is clear that Mary has been struggling to care for Ellie since Charlie's qqqabsence. It doesn't help that Ellie directs her anger and hostility towards her as much as she does towards everyone else.

* BuryYourGays: Charlie's late boyfriend Alan is said to have killed himself over religious guilt after being expelled from his family/church for his relationship with Charlie, and Charlie himself is very slowly killing himself via overeating. [[spoiler:And he likely dies at the end of the movie]].

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Thomas turns out to be homophobic, but it's clearly the result of growing up in a staunchly Christian community; he doesn't bear any ill will towards Charlie. This contrasts him with...

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Thomas turns out to be homophobic, but it's clearly the result of growing up in a staunchly Christian community and he doesn't bear any ill will towards Charlie. This contrasts him with…

* SpringtimeForHitler: {{Implied|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Ellie reports Thomas' secret to the latter's family. In turn, they manage to reconcile with Thomas through forgiveness. Charlie interprets this as Ellie doing a favor for him, but given her attitude throughout most of the film, it seems to have been an unsuccessful attempt at humiliating him.]]

* DomesticAbuse: In addition to her treatment of her father, Ellie is also noted to be very hostile and violent towards her mother, even stealing from her medicine cabinet and harassing her online.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Mary isn't exactly the sweetest person around, but she nonetheless won't shame Charlie over his partner's demise. She also doesn't approve of Ellie's treatment of Charlie; she tells Ellie off when the latter continues to lash out at Charlie.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Mary is less concerned about Ellie's behavior being unacceptable and more concerned over the fact that it makes ''herself'' look bad as well.

* SpringtimeForHitler: {{Implied|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Ellie reports Thomas' secret to the latter's family. In turn, they manage to reconcile with Thomas through forgiveness. Given her attitude throughout most of the film, it seems to have been an unsuccessful attempt in humiliating him.]]

* TroubledAbuser: While it still doesn't justify or excuse her behavior, Ellie has nonetheless azz suffered major self-esteem issues from [[DisappearedDad Charlie's departure]] when she was only eight-years-old.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Ellie, a 17-year-old high school student, is shown smoking and stealing pills from her mother to get high. It's implied that she has been doing this for quite some time.

->''"[[Literature/MobyDick This book]] made me think about my own life, and then it made me feel glad for my..."''

The story follows Charlie (Creator/BrendanFraser), a morbidly obese, reclusive writing teacher who is mourning the death of his partner. He's now dying of congestive heart failure and has no desire to try and improve his health, despite the best efforts of his friend/nurse Liz (Creator/HongChau). However, he wishes to reconnect with his daughter, Ellie (Creator/SadieSink), before he passes and attempts to reforge a relationship broken by betrayal and estrangement.

* NiceGuy: Despite his many faults, Charlie is a genuinely polite and apologetic man who insists on seeing the good in everyone.

* EvilRedhead: Ellie has red hair and is thoroughly unpleasant and ill-tempered. She also commits crimes such as blackmail, drug abuse, and food tampering.

* StrugglingSingleMother: It is clear that Mary has been struggling to care for Ellie since Charlie's absence. It doesn't help that Ellie directs her anger and hostility towards her as much as she does towards everyone else.

* TroubledAbuser: While it still doesn't justify or excuse her mean-spirited nature, Ellie has nonetheless suffered major self-esteem issues from [[DisappearedDad Charlie's departure]] when she was only eight-years-old.