Whalefall

Director: Brian Duffield

When Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) returns home after the death at sea of his father, Mitt (Josh Brolin), he is confronted by memories of a difficult relationship and childhood, with a father who showed a greater love for the ocean and its whales than for his son. But when Jay decides to try to find his father’s body in the ocean depths, he encounters a whale, an encounter that sparks an insane battle for survival and forces him to come to terms with his relationship with his father.

Based on Daniel Kraus’s novel, Whalefall is a wild ride. It’s part adventure, part horror, part melodramatic mush. On leaving the cinema I wasn’t sure whether it was a load of nonsense or an entertaining thrill ride; the reality is it lies somewhere in between. It’s a thrill ride that suffers from over-sentimentality, but if you can get past that, there is craziness to enjoy.

It’s a story told partly in flashback, as we learn about Jay and Mitt’s relationship, but mostly in the innards of a whale. It’s in those underwater and inner-whale scenes that it’s at its best: a mix of tension, Indiana Jones-style puzzles to overcome, and horror-inflected moments.

The film is largely carried by Austin Abrams, much of it spent alone underwater and in the digestive system of a whale. Josh Brolin is at home as the hard father, teaching his son life lessons that will literally save his life. Other performances are little more than cameos, although John Ortiz is, as always, an enjoyable watch. It is also well shot: the underwater scenes are hugely convincing, although the inside of the whale is surprisingly well lit!

It works less well when it’s over-sentimental, which is often. It’s very on the nose: yes, we get it, your father’s influence is a whale you have to escape, alongside the literal one. And the final act tips into overripe melodrama.

Then there’s the ridiculousness of the entire premise, which includes stealing an ending you have seen before!

But if you can get past the silliness of it all, you can have a whale of a time.