Last Friday, October 16, this year’s newest book-to-film adaptation was released in theaters: “Whalefall.” Directed by Brian Duffield, the film adapts a novel of the same name written by Daniel Kraus, who co-wrote the film with Duffield.
The film stars Austin Abrams (“Weapons,” “Resident Evil”) as Jay Gardiner, who has returned home from college a year after the death of his father, Mitt Gardiner (Josh Brolin). After getting sick, Mitt, a dedicated lover of the ocean and experienced diver, chose to commit suicide by jumping in the ocean rather than die in a hospital bed. His suicide is the opening scene of the film before we meet Jay one year later, who is struggling with guilt about the fact that he refused to talk to Mitt while he was in the hospital because of their strained relationship. His mother and two older sisters are also struggling; Mitt had tied weights to himself to die in the ocean, so they had no body to bury, a factor that also weighed on them.
With everything going on, Jay decides he’s going to dive into the ocean using what Mitt taught him in order to try to recover Mitt’s remains. Unfortunately, this goes terribly wrong for him. After diving into a particularly deep part of the ocean, he gets caught up in an altercation between a sperm whale and a giant squid. The squid, trying to escape being eaten by the whale, wraps its tentacles around Jay and they both get swallowed by the whale. This is where the real action begins, as Jay attempts to stay alive with an oxygen tank that has less than an hour of oxygen left, and hopefully escape.
The oceanic visuals in the film are stunning, especially with the addition of bioluminescence creating interesting lighting that also allows Jay to see when he’s inside the whale. When it came to the visuals of Jay in the whale, there was definitely a decent amount of grossness and I found myself disoriented due to my lack of knowledge about whale anatomy. I don’t think this took away from the film at all, though, because Jay himself was also disoriented and figuring things out as he went.
But I have to say the most incredible aspect of the film for me was the sound design, which really stole the show. The sounds of the ocean and creatures within it, coupled with the music, create a totally immersive experience that forces you to be on the edge of your seat. The action sequences – especially when Jay is swallowed by the whale – are very well done and made my jaw drop when watching.
The film surprised me by also being deeply emotional on top of the crazy premise, with the narrative of Jay’s predicament being broken up with memories of him and Mitt. These memories serve to make the viewer care more for Jay, as well as give him hints and ideas on how to escape his situation. There wasn’t a lot of comedic relief in the film, naturally, but the comedy that is present is hilarious – especially in a certain scene where Jay interacts with a jellyfish who has also been swallowed by the whale.
Overall, the film was very entertaining and I loved every second of the watching experience. I can’t speak to how faithful it is to the book or to the real-life logistics of whale swallowing, but I can say it was a lot of fun, and the actors all did a phenomenal job.
Senior Emily Myers is a Copy Editor. Her email is emyers3@fandm.edu.