'Whalefall' review: Austin Abrams deals with daddy issues in the belly of a beast
MANILA, Philippines — In the Bible, Jonah is swallowed by giant fish while avoiding his divine mission. The titular character in "Pinocchio" meanwhile sees his search for father Geppetto take him to a whale's stomach.
Themes from either story are present in Brian Duffield's "Whalefall," a film adaptation of Daniel Kraus' book of the same name.
At the center of the movie is Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) who goes diving in the ocean to search for the remains of his estranged father Mitt (Josh Brolin) a year after the latter's death.
The underwater search turns sideways — or rather goes even deeper — when Jay witnesses a giant squid fighting a sperm whale, and in the encounter gets swallowed by the cacholot.
With limited oxygen literally left in the tank, Jay tries to escape the whale's belly before getting digested while dealing with memories of Mitt.
This survival thriller carries the simple premise of "make it out alive" but finds more depth (pun intended) in Jay attempting to find the closure he never got with his father.
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It is some feat for any film to be imaginative when a majority of the story mostly takes place in a solitary location, so credit is due to production designer Ramsey Avery and cinematographer Aaron Morton for the immersive viewing experience.
Abrams also has the heavy task of acting within a limited space and letting his eyes do a lot of work. After "Resident Evil" earlier this year, the actor is well on his way to bigger deals.
"Whalefall" can be forgiven for the predictable flashbacks to tense moments between Jay and Mitt, especially with Brolin hamming up the sea identity that would make Jeff Bridges proud.
Sappy and cliché as the approach may appear, Duffield and Kraus — co-writers on the screenplay — do well to marry the gravity of Jay's actions with what he's learned from Mitt, be it about heavy expectations being put on him or the gifts that nature provides.
There is some beauty in watching the whale trying to live its life while an individual is struggling to escape it. At the end of the day, we come to terms with the decisions we make.
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