The Whale at the Center of ‘Whalefall’ is “the Good Guy,” Actually
In *Whalefall*, a diver is swallowed by a sperm whale, but director Brian Duffield says the whale is “the good guy”. He hopes the film leaves audiences fond of whales, in contrast with *Jaws*, which casts its shark as a threat.
Based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel, the film stars Austin Abrams as a diver searching for his father’s remains, played by Josh Brolin. Trapped inside the whale while it hunts squid, he must escape before his diving tank runs out of air. The cast and crew spent weeks filming in a recreated whale’s stomach, and the film is also screening in 4DX.
- Director Brian Duffield says the whale is the hero of *Whalefall*.
- Austin Abrams plays a diver trapped inside a sperm whale.
- The film is based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel and screens in 4DX.
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Sperm whales are large marine mammals that live in oceans around the world and dive deep to hunt squid. They use sound to navigate and find prey, and their size and behaviour can make close encounters dangerous, even though they do not generally hunt people.
Films can shape how audiences think about animals. Steven Spielberg’s Jaws helped make the shark a familiar symbol of danger, while Whalefall draws on the rare possibility of a person being swallowed by a whale to tell a survival story. The contrast matters because it raises questions about whether a wild animal is portrayed as a threat or simply part of its natural environment.