I’m on vacation, but found out the local cinema where I am staying is an IMAX, so I snuck away from the wife and watched Whalefall. Annoyingly, I have to write this review on my phone, but here goes.
The Story
I knew nothing of Whalefall going in. I had not seen the trailers, and I had not read the book. Me, reading a book, can you imagine?
We open with Mitt (Josh Brolin) strapping weights to himself and jumping off a boat, drowning himself. A very short sequence, but emotional. Jump forward, and Jay (Austin Abrams) is meeting up with his family for the funeral. Jay and Mitt’s relationship was troubled, and always had been.
Jay has also returned to dive to find his father’s body. They were both divers, but Mitt was pretty harsh on Jay. Jay just wants closure. On the dive hunting for his father’s body, he ends up being swallowed whole by a sperm whale, and has to get out.
That’s all the story I’ll spoil, but it’s very well written, and much more emotional than I thought it would be.
The Cast
I thought it odd that they killed off Brolin right at the start of Whalefall, but he’s still there in the flashbacks. Brolin is a great actor, very underrated, but he always delivers a great performance.
Whalefall has to be carried by Abrams, as it’s his, very claustrophobic, story. He’s new to me, but he is outstanding here.
Firstly, you’re with Jay every breathtaking step of the way, and the movie is far more emotional than I thought it would be; however, I definitely did not cry at the end!
His acting is very good, but also, the entire filming looked very, very difficult to make. I saw a photo of the practical effect of him being in a ‘whales’ mouth; it was nice to see practical effects being used. The entire set is gross, slimy, and enclosed, very enclosed. It must have been a nightmare to be in there for hours, so kudos to him.
Don’t Get In The Water
You know when Jaws mentally scared people about swimming in the sea for years? Whalefall isn’t the same as that, but I don’t ever want to be told I have to prophesise about the land of Ninevah. A little biblical joke there.
Most modern horror is pretty crap these days, with cheesy jump scars, more blood than plot, and just not scary. Whalefall is scary, I felt myself squirming, feeling the pain Jay was going through, and just feeling scared. An experience I’ve not had in a good while.
The chances of meeting a shark is possible, well, in the sea at least. The chances of being swallowed by a whale are about as much as me taking Jessica on a date. However, Whalefall does make you not want to go diving… ever.
Overall
I had no idea what to expect from Whalefall, going in cold, but I was treated to a very good movie. Although, it should have been called Indigestion: Don’t Eat Divers.
There was more emotion than I expected, but not in a bad way. Ultimately, Jay needed a reason to be in the water, and he had one. Sure, some of his memories help him in his predicament, and some of it is cheesy, but I was able to overlook it, as I was so engrossed.
Speaking of cheesy, there’s a scene near the end that is very cheesy, almost laughably so. However, I let it slide, again, as I was so invested. Also, it looked cool.
I had heard there was a load of climate change preaching in the movie, but I really didn’t get that. Mitt gives a couple of speeches about how tourism is killing the wildlife, which effects the algae in the oceans, which produces oxygen. I thought he made a fair point, but didn’t feel preached at.
Whalefall is a very good movie. It’s a solid story, scary, and emotional. It’s not the movie I was expecting, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The time flew by, I was completely engrossed, and it was genuinely scary when it needs to be. I’m giving it a solid 4.5 it of 5; it loses half a star because of the cheesiness, but it is still well worth watching.
