Mumbai: The biblical tale of Jonah and the whale gets a fiercely modern, almost uncomfortably realistic treatment in Brian Duffield’s Whalefall, a claustrophobic survival thriller that doubles as a meditation on grief, forgiveness and letting go.
Based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel, the film straddles the space between the real and the surreal — especially in its close-ups of the whale’s eye, which is at once implacable and childlike.
The Story
Jay (Austin Abrams) had a difficult relationship with his father, Mitt (Josh Brolin), a renowned diver. Mitt instilled a love for the ocean and diving in Jay, but his often aggressive and abusive methods pushed his son onto a different path — prompting Jay to leave for Iowa to study and refuse to see his increasingly ill father.
Jay returns home after Mitt’s passing to observe the first anniversary with his mother Zara (Elisabeth Shue) and sisters Eva (Jane Levy) and Nan (Emily Rudd). Mitt chose to die in the ocean rather than suffer a prolonged illness, and Jay decides to dive in search of his father’s remains.
The dive goes well at first — until a squid appears (lethally aggressive cephalopods are having a moment), and Jay ends up in a sperm whale’s stomach alongside the squid. With barely an hour of oxygen left, he must figure a way out of the belly of the beast.
Subverting the Creature Feature
Whalefall is fascinating for how it subverts the creature-feature narrative. Usually, once the beastie swallows its prey, it’s the endgame — we move quickly on to the next pair of flailing feet. Here, being swallowed whole by an 80-foot whale is just the beginning.
And even though the animal is huge, one is not prepared for all the organs and the muscular, beating heart inside. The whale’s stomach is crammed with patently living tissue; the tongue is massive and the teeth outright terrifying. The practical effects and eerie sound design create the whale’s stomach chambers — including the acid-filled one — giving the feeling of being there with Jay. Abrams, who did most of his own stunts, contributes to the visceral feeling of being trapped in one of nature’s inexorable killing machines.
Grief and Forgiveness
The father-son flashbacks can be read as context, subliminal readings of guilt, or plain sentimentality. Beautifully shot with moody greys and icy blues, the scene where the whale surfaces gives a sense of scale, with a whale-watching boat looking tiny next to the leviathan.
There are many reasons to enjoy Whalefall — from the grand visuals to the sheer audacity of its execution and the none-too-delicate underpinning of love and forgiveness.
Whalefall is currently running in theatres.
