‘Whalefall’ movie review: Austin Abrams is a fiercely modern Jonah in this whale of a tale

The biblical tale of Jonah and the whale is the stuff of endless Sunday school entertainment, where living in a huge fish for three days before being safely vomited out seemed like good fun. There was also the kilometre-long shark-like creature in Pinocchio called Terrible Dogfish, who swallows Geppetto. Pinocchio finds Geppetto living fairly comfortably in the fish’s belly (scavenging furniture and other useful things), and the two escape because the fish sleeps with its mouth open, as it is asthmatic.

Brian Duffield’s Whalefall, based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel — while being almost uncomfortably realistic — straddles the space between the real and the surreal, especially with the close-ups of the whale’s eye which is at once implacable and childlike.

Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner in ‘Whalefall’
| Photo Credit:
20th Century Studios

Jay (Austin Abrams) had a difficult relationship with his father, Mitt (Josh Brolin), who was a renowned diver. He instilled a love for the ocean and diving in Jay, but Mitt’s often aggressive and abusive methods pushed Jay onto a different path, prompting Jay to leave to study in Iowa and refusing to see an increasingly ill Mitt.

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 Mitt’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, Jay has to figure out a way out of the belly of the beast.

Whalefall is fascinating for how it subverts the creature-feature narrative. Usually, once the beastie swallows its prey, we are not given an Innerspace view of what happens next (well, Quint was eaten from the legs up in Jaws); it is the endgame for the unfortunate victim, and we move quickly on to the next pair of flailing feet.

ALSO READ: Austin Abrams interview

In Whalefall, being swallowed whole by an 80-foot whale is just the beginning. Also, even though the animal is huge, one is not prepared for all the organs and the muscular, beating heart inside; for some reason, one imagines the insides being largely hollow with enough space for a table, chair and a pallet by an organic, gigantic porthole!

Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner in ‘Whalefall’
| Photo Credit:
20th Century Studios

In the movie, however, the whale’s stomach is crammed with patently living tissue and organs. The tongue is massive, and the teeth are outright terrifying. The practical effects and eerie sound design create the whale’s stomach chambers, including the acid-filled one, to give the feeling of being there with Jay. Abrams, who did most of his stunts, also contributes to the visceral feeling of being trapped in one of nature’s inexorable killing machines.

The father-son flashbacks can be seen 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 the 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 execution and the none-too-delicate underpinning of love and forgiveness.

Whalefall is currently running in theatres