Swallowed Whole: My Film Review of “Whalefall”
Brian Duffield turns Daniel Kraus’ best-selling novel into a modern-day “Jonah and the Whale” — and in 4DX, you feel every drop of it
Max Hechtman arriving at the advanced 4DX screening of Whalefall at Regal Times Square in New York City. (Photo courtesy of Disney)
This could be one of the surprise breakout hits of the year. On Friday, October 9, 20th Century Studios invited me to an exclusive advance 4DX screening of its latest release, Whalefall, at Regal Times Square in New York City. I walked out convinced that this modern-day “Jonah and the Whale” is going to keep audiences on the edge of their seats all fall.
The film is based on Daniel Kraus’ best-selling 2023 novel, which Kraus adapted for the screen alongside director Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You, Spontaneous). Whalefall follows Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams), a scuba diver who returns to the waters off California’s Central Coast in search of the remains of his late father, Mitt (Josh Brolin). Instead, Jay is swallowed alive by a massive sperm whale. With only an hour of oxygen left, he has to find a way out, and the hard-earned lessons his father left him may be the only thing that gets him there. Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy and Emily Rudd round out the supporting cast.
As a filmmaker, I always want to know how something like this gets made, and the answer here is: the hard way. Whalefall was shot in roughly chronological order, with almost no CGI used for the scenes inside the whale. Duffield has said that the vast majority of the film’s stunts are performed by Abrams himself. That commitment to practical filmmaking gives the story a sense of dread and vicious realism that a green-screen version simply couldn’t match. Because we experience Jay’s ordeal in the order he lives it, the exhaustion and panic build on screen right alongside that ticking clock.
Then there’s the sound design, which is very intense. It makes the inside of the whale feel like a living, breathing space, and it never lets you forget exactly where Jay is or how little time he has left.
Seeing it in 4DX made the film even more immersive. Water sprayed, wind blew and seats shook, leaving me, my guest and the entire audience shivering. The effects kicked off before the movie even started, during a special presentation of the film’s own theatrical trailer, which put us all into high gear right away. And then came a moment I won’t soon forget: the iconic 20th Century monolith and searchlights filling the screen, accompanied by the thundering snare-drum roll and triumphant trumpets of that iconic Alfred Newman-composed fanfare, opening a film from the very studio that had literally invited me to the screening. It felt extremely surreal.
The entire audience, including myself, were in for the ride of our lives. (Photo courtesy of Disney)
If you’re deciding which format to see it in, Whalefall is practically built for 4DX: a story about being trapped in the water, told in a theater that puts the water on you.
After the film, Reddit hosted a Q&A with Duffield, Kraus, Brolin and Abrams themselves. It was amazing to hear from them live and in person about how the film was made, and what drew each of them to such a massive undertaking. For anyone who cares about the craft, hearing the people behind a production this ambitious talk about it firsthand is a rare treat.
Thank you to 20th Century Studios, Disney and Newhouse for putting on such an amazing evening for all the attendees. I sure do hope audiences feel the exact same thrills we all did when Whalefall opens in theaters everywhere, and in 4DX, this Friday, October 16.
