The Whale ending explained: What happened to Brendan Fraser's Charlie?

As his health deteriorates, Charlie is keen to reconcile with his estranged teenage daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink), who is still angry at him following his divorce from her mother Mary (Samantha Morton).

Yet, as his friend and nurse Liz (Hong Chau) tries to warn him of the potential of getting hurt, will Charlie only end up having his heart broken all over again?

The film - which is not based on a true story - culminates in emotional scenes, but what does the ending of The Whale mean?

*Spoiler warning for the end of The Whale**

The Whale ending explained: What happened to Brendan Fraser's Charlie?

Over the course of The Whale, we learn that Charlie ended his marriage to his wife Mary as he was hiding his homosexuality until he fell in love with a man named Alan.

This resulted in Charlie losing contact with his daughter Ellie, which he has always felt guilty about.

However, Charlie's life with Alan was torn apart when the latter ended his own life out of religious guilt regarding his sexuality.

The grief caused by Alan's death resulted in Charlie binge-eating and spiralling into severe morbid obesity, leaving him at risk of congestive heart failure and struggling to move by himself unassisted.

However, Charlie is cared for by his friend Liz who urges him to seek better medical care but he states he does not have the funds for it.

Alan had been part of the local New Life Church and Liz, Charlie's nurse and friend, is the adopted daughter of New Life's head pastor, and is now estranged from both her father and the church.

This results in tension when Charlie receives visits from Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a missionary from the church who faces debates with Charlie and anger from Liz.

Soon, it becomes clear that Charlie has been paying his antagonistic teenage daughter Ellie to visit him and has offered her up to $120,000 for the time.

Charlie spends this time asking Ellie about her life, writing essays for her homework and also trying to convince her that she has a remarkable voice of her own. Ellie often delivers him fat-shaming and homophobic comments, showing her long-standing resentment of him leaving her.

Eventually, Ellie spikes Charlie's drink with sleeping pills so she can have his place to herself and spends time with Thomas and flirts with him before recording his confessions of theft back home before he ran away and joined the Church. As a result of this, Thomas came clean with his old youth group back in Iowa and plans to return there, but not before visiting Charlie and preaching to him, blaming Alan's death on his homosexuality, resulting in fury from Charlie.

Liz later brings Ellie's mother Mary to Charlie's apartment and the parents end up rowing over Ellie, while Liz is furious to learn of the money that Charlie has not spent on his health and instead gives to Ellie, prompting Liz to abandon him.

In an emotional confrontation, an upset Mary ends up leaving Charlie, who shouts that he needs to have done one good thing in his life by helping Ellie to know how remarkable she is and to give her a good life.

Meanwhile, Charlie - who has avoided contact with the outside world apart from a few people - is upset when delivery driver Dan (Sathya Sridharan) finally catches sight of him and looks horrified, prompting Charlie to binge-eat.

As his health continues to fail, Charlie also learns that there has been backlash in his online university lecturer classes - in which he always works with his webcam turned off - after he pushed his students to be more honest in their writing.

After these "honest" complaints, Charlie turned his webcam on to them and they were shocked by his appearance. In one last plea for them to be their authentic selves, Charlie broke his laptop and ended the call.

Liz eventually returns and reconciles with Charlie in what are sure to be his final days, but the pair are surprised when Ellie furiously turns up, angry that Charlie replaced the essay he had written for her with one she had written years prior about Herman Melville's Moby Dick, which he praises as the most honest essay he has ever come across.

After begging Ellie to read the essay aloud to him, an emotional Ellie reads it to him as Charlie stands up and attempts to walk over to her.

As Ellie concludes her reading, Charlie begins to float before being engulfed in white light - indicating his death and passing over to the afterlife.

In an emotional final shot, a flashback is shown to Charlie on the beach with Mary and Ellie.

Does Charlie die in The Whale?

The final moments of the film certainly indicate that Charlie has died in his attempt to walk unassisted to his daughter Ellie as she reads him his favourite essay - one she himself wrote.

The ending is similar to the play on which the film is based, written by Samuel D Hunter.

However, most theatrical portrayals end with a sharp intake of breath from Charlie before the lights are snapped out, rather than the levitation and envelopment of light shown in the film.

Speaking to The Los Angeles Times, Hunter did not confirm Charlie's fate in regards to the play: "When asked about the ending, Hunter didn’t clarify Charlie’s status because, he said, it’s not necessarily relevant.

"The final moments of this play and this movie abandon realism a little bit, and it’s no longer about this guy in this apartment.

"What matters is that he’s connected with Ellie, he’s done the thing that he’s been trying to do throughout this entire play, and that connection feels real and genuine. There’s this apotheosis that happens, and in the film, Charlie literally ascends off the ground."

Why does The Whale end with the flashback to the beach?

The inclusion of a memory to a family vacation with Charlie, Mary and Ellie may be just Charlie recalling happier times.

However, Hunter indicates that the scene - which is not in the play - is due to Charlie considering the roads not taken such as staying with Mary, never meeting Alan, raising Ellie while not being honest with himself. Where could they have all ended up?

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Hunter added: "Choosing to stay or leave, both paths are complicated and tragic in their own ways, but ultimately, I think Charlie took the more hopeful route, and chose to look for the salvation one can find through human connection."

Read More

• The Whale review: An eloquent and powerful look at redemption
• The Whale writer reveals moment he knew Brendan Fraser was perfect for role

The Whale is out now in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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