‘Whalefall’ Director Brian Duffield on Using Josh Brolin’s Heartbeat For the Whale: ‘Make It Feel as Personal as Possible’ — SkimNews
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- Brian Duffield told Variety at the 'Whalefall' premiere at El Capitan Theatre that the crew recorded Josh Brolin's heartbeat and doubled it for the sperm whale's, since no native sperm whale heartbeat recording existed
- Duffield said the whale's heartbeat triggers a specific lighting effect throughout the film, linking the mammal sonically and visually to Brolin's character, the late father Mitt Gardiner
- Creatives gave the whale facial scarring matching Brolin's as a choice meant to register subliminally with star Austin Abrams, who plays Jay, the man trapped inside the whale
- Brolin voices both the spirit of Jay's late father and the spirit of the whale, with the two doubling as one another throughout the film
- 'Whalefall' is one of three Brolin films releasing this year, including 'Dune: Part Three' set for Dec. 18
- Brolin said he wasn't fazed by Ridley Scott's 'The Dog Stars' opening to just $8 million domestically in August, citing 2017's 'Only the Brave' — a theatrical bomb that later succeeded on streaming
- Brolin praised the recent jump in theatrical attendance, citing the 'Avengers: Endgame' re-release and calling the lights-going-down experience 'heart-opening'
Why it matters: Because Brolin's character dies early but the whale looms over nearly every scene of 'Whalefall,' Duffield embedded the actor's heartbeat and facial scarring into the creature itself — ensuring the father-son emotional thread stays present even when Brolin isn't on screen. For a survival drama built on a single sustained set piece inside a whale, those subliminal choices are what carry the audience through.
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