If you have ever wondered what it was like to be swallowed by a whale, boy do I have the movie for you. With “Whalefall”, director Brian Duffield tackles that very predicament. But here’s the thing – no matter how silly and outrageous it sounds, “Whalefall” manages to surprise in several interesting ways. Whether it’s the wild survival scenario or the deeper emotional resonance, the movie repeatedly finds ways to exceed every expectation.

Written for the screen by Duffield and Daniel Kraus, the story is an adaptation of Kraus’ 2023 novel of the same name. It revolves around Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams), a scuba diver who’s wrestling with the shadow of his late father, Mitt (wonderfully played in flashbacks by Josh Brolin). Mitt was a diving legend who was loved by the locals. But at home he was a stern and harsh father to Jay which drove a wedge between him and his son. Because of it, Jay ends up leaving Monastery Beach in California to attend college in Iowa.

The film kicks off one year after a terminally ill Mitt commits suicide in the very ocean he loves. His body was never found. Jay returns home to spend time with his mother Zara (Elisabeth Shue) and his two older sisters, Eva (Jane Levy) and Nan (Emily Rudd). As the family reminisces about their lost patriarch, a conflicted Jay struggles with his own returning memories.

Early the next morning, with everyone still asleep, Jay loads up his father’s old scuba gear and slips away to the bay where Mitt killed himself. His plan is to search for his dad’s remains, believing that finding just one bone would help bring him some much-needed closure. “I don’t know why. I just know I have to do this.” But while well off the coast, near the rim of a deep underwater canyon, the unthinkable happens. Jay is accidentally swallowed by an enormous sperm whale as it’s hunting a giant squid.

“Whalefall” immediately turns into a claustrophobic survival thriller, with Duffield thrusting both Jay and us into the belly of the beast. While it sounds preposterous, Duffield delivers a harrowing experience unlike anything I’ve seen. He moves Jay through the various chambers of the whale’s digestive system, using creative production design, killer visual effects, and intense cinematography to immerse us in every new danger he faces. The survival elements are mostly effective and the few dashes of body horror earned some audible gasps from my audience.

But the biggest surprise is found in the father-son story that lies at the heart of “Whalefall”. Duffield breaks up Jay’s suffocating fight for his life with flashbacks that better develop his strained relationship with his father. Brolin is especially good in these scenes, unambiguously revealing his character’s flaws. And while the movie never fully absolve’s Mitt, it gives us a clearer picture of his mindset. At the same time, Jay’s situation forces him to reckon with his feelings about his father. And as he does, he begins recalling the lessons he learned from Mitt, using them in his efforts to escape.

While its themes aren’t new and its metaphorical meaning is easy to pick up on, “Whalefall” is still a wildly unique experience that finds a near perfect balance between white-knuckle thrills and heartfelt emotion. It features some stunning underwater photography and effects work that pops on the big screen. And then there’s Austin Abrams, who anchors this affecting story of regret, remorse, and reconciliation while spending most of his time in the stomach of a whale. He’s central in making “Whalefall” one of the year’s biggest surprises.

VERDICT – 4 STARS