History Film / TheWhale

* JerkassHasAPoint: 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 that he was wrong.

* 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, and her grades have suffered as a result. The [[FreudianExcuse main cause]] of this is [[DisappearedDad Charlie's]] [[ParentalAbandonment abandonment]] when she was a child.

-->'''Charlie:''' I need to know that I have done ''one'' right thing with my life!

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I need to know that I have done '''one''' right thing with my life!"'']]

->''"Do you ever get the feeling that people are incapable of not caring? People are amazing."''

* PottyEmergency: When Liz first arrives, Charlie says he desperately has to go to the bathroom because he's been "holding it in all day" because how difficult it is to move even short distances at his size.

* TeensAreMonsters: Ellie exemplifies this trope. According to her mother, she frequently got into trouble at school for severe behavioral issues. She is also incredibly hostile and aggressive towards Charlie when she visits him at his apartment complex.

** Mary is also very unsympathetic towards Charlie, but is a prescription pill addict and [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] who is also at best a struggling and overwhelmed mother.
** Thomas preaches the word of God to Charlie and encourages him to repent for his "sin" (his sexuality) but is estranged from his own church and family due to stealing money and being seemingly addicted to weed, even falling OffTheWagon when he's with Ellie.

* BullyingTheDisabled: Ellie constantly treats her morbidly obese father like dirt. At one point, she moves his wheelchair to force him to get up despite his inability to do so.

* KickTheDog: Ellie has a lot of these moments towards Charlie, such as telling him it's ''better off'' that his online students don't know what he looks like and spiking him with drugs to incapacitate him.

* TeensAreMonsters: Ellie exemplifies this trope. According to her mother, she had frequently gotten in trouble at school for serious behavioral issues. She is also incredibly hostile and aggressive towards Charlie when she visits him at his apartment complex.

* FatSlob: PlayedForDrama and {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. Even though he's aware of his horrendous health, Charlie continues to binge eat at excessive amounts instead of taking proper care of himself at the insistence of Liz. His obesity and binge eating is depicted as [[FreudianExcuse a coping mechanism to the immense trauma he has faced in his life.]] The "slob" part is also downplayed in that, outside of his eating habits, he does put ''some'' effort into taking care of himself and his appearance, such as shaving and showering.

* {{Hikikomori}}: Charlie never leaves his apartment and has as few social connections as possible. Prior to the start of the film, his only social contacts are Liz and his online students, whom he teaches with his camera disconnected. He asks the pizza delivery man to simply leave the pizzas outside his door and take money from the mailbox so he won't see him. His social circle only expands at the start of the film when [[TheMissionary Thomas]] drops by, and when he tries to [[MustMakeAmmends reconnect with his daughter]] after Liz tells him he's dying.

* {{Hikikomori}}: Charlie never leaves his apartment and has as few social connections as possible. Prior to the start of the film, his only social contacts are Liz and his online students, whom he teaches with his camera disconnected. He asks the pizza delivery man to simply leave the pizzas outside his door and take money from the mailbox so he won't see him. His social circle only expands at the start of the film when [[TheMissionary Thomas]] drops by, and when he tries to reconnect with his daughter after Liz tells him he probably has less than a week to live.

* BuryYourGays: Charlie's ex-boyfriend 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 over-eating. [[spoiler:And he likely dies at the end of the movie]].

* DrivenToSuicide: Charlie's boyfriend, Liz's brother, after being outcast from their church, and Charlie himself might be said to indulge in a form of this by overeating.

** The film leaves it open for interpretation whether [[spoiler:Charlie dies at the end of the movie. It certainly doesn't look good for him, but it's also possible his ascension is metaphorical.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I need to know that I did '''one''' right thing with my life!"'']]

-->'''Charlie:''' I need to know that I did ''one'' thing right with my life!

-->--'''Charlie'''

-----

-->'''Charlie:''' I need to know that I've done ''one'' thing right with my life!

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Charlie at the end of the film. The final scene , in which he finally stands up on his own, walks towards Ellie, is bathed in light coming in from the outside, has a flashback to a happy visit to the beach, and then physically lifts off the ground, could very well indicate that he dies, but it's not made certain]].

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The film begins and ends with the reading of an essay about Literature/MobyDick, and "whale" is a common slur used against fat people like Charlie.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The film begins and ends with the reading of an essay about Literature/MobyDick, but it also references Charlie himself, who is large enough to be labelled a "whale".

* BeautyInversion: The handsome and well-groomed Brendan Fraser, plays the disheveled and slovenly Charlie. Even though Charlie only stopped caring about his appearance after Alan's death, Charlie maintains that he was not particularly good-looking beforehand.

* BeautyInversion: The handsome and well-groomed Brendan Fraser, who has a normal, somewhat heavy build, plays the obese, balding, and slovenly Charlie. Even though the weight gain happened mostly after Alan's death, Charlie maintains that he was always quite large and was not particularly good looking beforehand.

* BeautyInversion: BeautyInversion: The handsome and well-groomed Brendan Fraser, who has a normal, somewhat heavy build, plays the obese, balding, and slovenly Charlie. Even though the weight gain happened mostly after Alan's death, Charlie maintains that he was always quite large and was not particularly good looking beforehand.

* LettingHerHairDown: Both Liz and Ellie wear their hair up or back for the majority of the film. Their key moments [[spoiler: involving reconciling with Charlie as he appears to die]] have their hair being down for the first time.

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: Charlie at the end of the film. The final scene , in which he finally stands up on his own, walks towards Ellie, is bathed in light coming in from the outside, has a flashback to a happy visit to the beach, and then physically lifts off the ground, could very well indicate that he dies, but it's not made certain]].
* UnseenNoMore:

* BeautyInversion: The handsome and well-groomed Brendan Fraser plays the disheveled and slovenly Charlie. Even though the weight gain happened mostly after Alan's death, Charlie maintains that he was always quite large and was not particularly good looking beforehand.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The film begins and ends with the reading of an essay about Literature/MobyDick, and "whale" is a common slur used against fat people like Charlie.

* BeautyInversion: The handsome and well-groomed Brendan Fraser plays the disheveled and slovenly Charlie.