Brian Duffield proves to be an excellent choice to adapt Daniel Kraus’s outstanding 2023 novel Whalefall. And while the film is slightly held back by some sloppy writing (highlighting the different skills needed in writing a screenplay vs. a novel), I found the emotional highs to be just as impactful in this film, with Duffield’s outstanding visuals more often than not supporting its emotional core.
Whalefall is about Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams—truly on a stellar run after Resident Evil), who is dealing with the grief of losing his father and, through a series of ill-advised events, finds himself swallowed alive by a sperm whale and needing to escape.
The setup is clunky and outrageous. And where the book managed to spend the right amount of time building up to the ultimately horrific dive resulting in this (nearly) impossible scenario, the film fails at achieving this delicate balance. However, if you can stay on board, Duffield will take you on an unforgettable ride that culminates in an outstanding third act that, while sometimes silly, is played with such heart by Abrams (with support from the ever-charismatic Josh Brolin) that you’d have to be heartless not to be moved by this physical manifestation of grief, loss, and empowerment.
It’s the relationship between Jay (Abrams) and his father (Brolin) that anchors the entire film—and these two are cast perfectly. Some of the family background is sorely missing, but the film smartly nails the dynamic between the two, which ultimately elevates it from schlocky body horror into an emotional bomb that is impossible to defuse.
I’d love to see Kraus hone some of his screenwriting skills, as there are a few impactful moments that are neutered by unnecessary dialogue (you need to show in a movie, not tell!), but so much of Whalefall works that I am hard-pressed to say these amateur errors fully detract from this excellent film. Fans of the book will find a lot to like here, and those who have not read it will be richly rewarded by doing so even after seeing the film.