A black screen and a chilling 911 call sets the scene for “Blackfish.”

A man’s calm voice is heard reporting “a dead person at SeaWorld” but he then pauses before emotionally choking out, “A whale has eaten one of the trainers.”

On Feb. 24, 2010, amusement park guests witnessed an atrocity: the death of  Dawn Brancheau, senior SeaWorld animal trainer.

It was a Wednesday afternoon when Brancheau finished a show by laying down next to her co-star Tilikum, a 12,000 pound male orca. According to witnesses, within seconds “Tilly” went from docile to demonic, dragging Brancheau to a violent death.

This incident is the focal point of the documentary “Blackfish,” which aired Oct. 24 on CNN.

But the film goes beyond this one deadly attack to narrate the nearly 50 years worth of dangerous disturbances that blot SeaWorld’s timeline. “Blackfish” follows Tilikum’s story, from his capture in 1983, to the two other deaths he’s connected with, before finally ending back at Brancheau’s death.

The story is narrated by ex-trainers and whale researchers. By the end of the film, a general consensus is made that keeping animals in captivity is dangerous and that it should end.

As the credits rolled over footage of wild orcas, we found ourselves a bit disappointed. We have spent a good three years researching whales in captivity and the issue is far from black-and-white. Yet the information and stories shared in “Blackfish” were all biased, all anti-captivity.

Upon interviewing John Hargrove, a former trainer featured in the film, we were surprised that after appearing on “Blackfish” Hargrove was asked to censor his quotes in follow up interviews to only anti-captivity opinions.

Hargrove said that now that he’s spoken out, animal activists want to use him as a platform for broadcasting their “radical agendas.” According to Hargrove, other speakers for the film have told him to stop talking about anything that could give the job of a SeaWorld trainer a good spin.

“[They want me] to completely distort the truth even to outright lie,” said Hargrove. “You know I’m not going to lie. I’m going to tell the truth.”

This proves that you cannot assume every bit of information from “Blackfish” is fact. Data is skewed, stories that could undermine the film’s disturbing picture of SeaWorld are left in the shadows.

Overall, “Blackfish” is a good documentary, but the picture it paints shows only one side of an incredibly complex issue and therefore should only serve as a gateway for the public to continue researching this moral dilemma.

Rating: 2/5