Mozart and the Whale 2005

Donald Morton [Josh Hartnett] is a taxi driver in Spokane who lives with Asperger syndrome and spends his days shuttling two Japanese passengers and his pet cockatiel around town. One moment of distraction leads him to collide with the back of a florist’s van, damaging the stock, but he and his bird calmly collect their groceries and walk away, abandoning the taxi and the passengers. He heads to a self-help group for autistic adults, where the routine is part social, part therapy, and part a peculiar way of making sense of everyday life. Before they leave for the park to meet another autistic group, he asks Gracie [Rusty Schwimmer] to corral the women while he gathers the men to practice telling their personal stories, though he keeps getting sidetracked by his habit of calculating sums and tracking the depleting numbers of microwaves. It’s there that he notices Isabelle Sorenson [Radha Mitchell], another woman with Asperger’s, who has just joined the group, and he nudges Gracie to let her go first.

At the park, Isabelle shares a childhood memory about her parents’ happiness when an Olympian broke a record, a memory she tried to honor by literally acting on what she heard—she broke their music records to please them. Donald recounts his own story, focusing on his talent for complex mental sums and his struggle to form friendships. Isabelle then reveals a painful experience from hitchhiking—she was raped—which unsettles the group and leads Gracie to laugh inappropriately. The moment unsettles Donald, but it also marks a turning point as he senses they have a shared connection and begins to feel drawn to her.

Gregory [John Carroll Lynch], a quiet observer in the group who keeps notes, signals Donald over to ask if Isabelle might escort him to a Halloween party. Instead, Isabelle asks Donald to take her out for lunch, and the two quickly discover a growing rapport. They spend the next day at the zoo, where Isabelle asks Donald to escort her again, this time as more than a friend. They agree to meet in costume on Halloween night. Donald dresses as a whale, but he ultimately backs out of the party, leaving Isabelle waiting in the crowd—dressed as Mozart—while he contemplates whether to go. They eventually wander the town, talk, and share their first kiss, a moment that signals the start of something deeper.

As the days pass, Donald struggles with how to navigate when to call and when to wait, leaving multiple messages for Isabelle. They finally reconnect and head to an amusement park, where a simple ring-toss game triggers a breakdown in Isabelle: the clanging sounds and the ringing bell cause her to scream and collapse. Donald carries her back to his apartment, and the two decide to sleep together. The next day, the self-help group discusses boundaries, and Gregory accuses Donald of exploiting his position for sexual favors. Meanwhile, Isabelle spends time with Bronwin, a younger member whose father is battling cancer, waiting with her as her parents come to pick her up.

Isabelle then takes it upon herself to clean up Donald’s apartment—newspapers stacked neatly, rotting food discarded, a fresh shower curtain and a tidy toilet lid—all of which shocks Donald. He explodes, insisting that she “stole my life,” and leaves in a rush, though Isabelle had hoped the changes would bring them closer. Later, he visits Isabelle at the hair salon where she works and apologizes in person; she forgives him and proudly introduces him as her boyfriend to the staff.

Isabelle introduces Donald to a hopeful place she calls an abandoned rooftop, a space she believes can give people who don’t quite belong somewhere to belong. She envisions a future where they purchase a house together, and her therapist has arranged a job interview for Donald as a statistician at a university. He lands the position, and they move into a home they can call their own.

As they settle in, Donald wants to present a flawless life for when his boss, Wallace [Gary Cole], visits for dinner. Isabelle, feeling the pressure, keeps the pets untamed and maintains an outgoing, even impulsive plan for the house, which clashes with Donald’s desire for order. A heated argument follows, and he accuses her of being as crazy as her plans; she counters by saying they are both crazy, and she ultimately throws him out. He stays with Gregory for a night, and when he hears a tearful voicemail about Isabelle’s rabbit, Bongo, dying, he rushes to her side to offer comfort. After this tenderness, Isabelle suggests they should just be friends.

Donald then invites Isabelle to a restaurant where he proposes, hoping to seal the bond. She leaves abruptly for home and overdoses on an over-the-counter medication. He rushes her to the hospital, where a psychiatrist advises him to refrain from calling her for a time, testing his self-control. He follows her to an abandoned rooftop where she waits and reveals that the only thing left for him to give is the choice not to call. The moment is decisive: she missed him, and the two acknowledge their true love with a quiet, powerful embrace.

In the end, the couple is shown as newly married and settled into their life together, sharing Thanksgiving dinner with the self-help group members in their home. The film closes on a note of acceptance and companionship, showing that even people who feel like they don’t belong can find a way to belong when they find someone who understands their world.

“you stole my life”