Whalefall gives new meaning to the phrase in the belly of the whale
Even if Whalefall is based on the novel by Pulitzer-prize winning author Daniel Kraus, the premise is still absurd. A college student named Jay (Austin Abrams) has a messy relationship with his father, played by Josh Brolin. He attempts to recover his father's remains from the bottom of the sea and gets swallowed by a whale, and for a majority of the movie, he tries to escape the whale's belly, as his oxygen runs lower and lower. Yes, it's bonkers, but it's still an intense thriller that deals with some on-the-nose themes, including the long shadows fathers can cast, environmental destruction, and well, death. Yet, despite some of the movie's cheesiness and corny dialogue, it's still an entertaining ride.
Here's a spoiler for those who haven't read the novel. Brolin's character kills himself early in the movie to avoid cancer treatment. This is what triggers Jay's deep sea diving and early encounter with the whale. It's unclear and rather silly why Jay thought he'd be able to actually recover his father's remains from the ocean floor in the first place, but he still tries. Before that point, however, we encounter some flashbacks showing the ugly relationship that Jay had with his old man, a hardened fisherman who constantly belittled his son, including about his lack of diving skills.
Their relationship became even more strained following Jay's decision to leave the ocean life behind and attend college in landlocked Iowa. These flashbacks are some of the best scenes in the movie and show the intense relationship the father and son had and how much that influences Jay in the present, even after his dad's death. Jay really can't escape his father's shadow, and it looms over his life, making it all the more difficult when he returns to visit his family one year after his dad's death. He even has night terrors about his dad waking him up early in the morning to go diving.
The flashbacks are woven throughout the movie once Jay is swallowed by the whale, and man, his time in the whale's stomach is intense, especially close-ups of Jay's pained face as he's ping-ponged against blubber, fights off a squid the whale ingested, and deals with acidic muck that burns his skin. You really, really feel for the poor guy, and for about two thirds of the movie, it's a riveting and nail-biting watch.
The film falters, however, in the last act when it becomes overly sentimental and hamstrung by some outlandish dialogue, including a line, "The whale is forever." The corny dialogue comes as surprise, since Kraus co-wrote the script with director Brian Duffield. You're really left wondering how some of the laughable lines actually made it into the movie, coupled with scenes where Jay, nearly out of oxygen, talks to his deceased father. The film really veers into overly sentimental territory at that point.
Yet, to survive, Jay also has to deal with and overcome the abusive relationship he had with his father, while learning to harness the skills he learned from him. Jay's journey also not-so-subtly resembles the belly of the whale phrase, at least the aspect of a hero's journey when a protagonist is swallowed by the unknown and undergoes a transformation. The metaphor is rather blatant, but it works here regarding Jay's narrative arc and how he eventually comes to understand and accept his old man.
Whalefall is an entertaining, deep sea dive at the movies. It's a gripping thriller, but one that requires a total suspension of disbelief and willingness to see past some horrible dialogue late in the film. Still, despite the obvious flaws and some overcooked themes, the feature has its share of enthralling scenes that are fun to marvel at on the big screen.
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