Charlie is an English teacher that conducts his classes through Zoom, though his camera is always off. He is obese and cannot leave his home. When his medical condition worsens, he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Aronofsky demonstrates his unique talent for connecting the bodily with the emotional to convey dramatic tensions into actual physical sensations, and per usual, focuses on the search for redemption. The suggestive script and Brendan Fraser's Oscar-awarded performance transform The Whale into "a deeply empathic and touching experience" (Time Out).