Sean Craig

Contributing Writer

“Whalefall” is a shockingly powerful movie that is about more than just surviving the insides of a whales stomach. It explores the complex relationship between a father and a son in the most unique way ever shown on screen.

Brian Duffield adapted Daniel Kraus’ novel in an eye-opening way. He utilized Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin to their fullest capacity, their performances shining in the situation the was created.

Brolin’s role as Mitt Gardiner was the most interesting part of the film for me. He represented the dichotomy of an abusive parent by showing both the warm, nice moments and the scary, cold ones.

Abrams also did a fantastic job as Jay Gardiner, especially during the scenes where he is inside of the whale, which is most of the movie. His performance, along with Joseph Trapanese’s musical score of the movie, really brought you inside each shocking moment that occurred within the belly of that beast.

Despite these amazing parts of the film, I found a few things felt off regarding the story. For one, I felt that Jay’s motivation to find the remains of his father were rather odd. He goes out diving to find the remains of his father nearly a year after his passing which just led me to question what he thought he would even find?

The remains of Jay’s father would be almost entirely gone by that point, so it made the main reason he was diving down there as a rushed catalyst to have him get swallowed by the whale. I think with a little more brainstorming it may have felt more realistic and the audience would have been more captivated.

Another flaw came later into the movie with the symbolism of his father talking to Jay as if he was the whale that he was stuck inside of. This detail really brought me out of the realism of the movie and almost felt a little cringe or cliche.

I enjoyed the movie’s flow up until this point with the flashbacks to Jay and Mitt’s time together, as well as Mitt’s lessons helping Jay survive certain situations in the whale. I cannot tell if his father being the whale was simply Jay’s descent into madness or if his spirit was genuinely inside the whale, but either way it felt very out of place.

With that being said it did ultimately drive their relationship forward in a way that positively affected the story. I believe that there could have been other ways that captured this without making it seem like his father is the whale.

Other than those flaws, the movie is enjoyable and truly shocking at times. The ending is incredibly satisfying and makes its viewers care about what happens to the main character, Jay. The way that his situation grew more dire throughout the film forced me to remain on the edge of my seat.