The Squid and the Whale (2006)

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  April 21, 2012

  moonrivers

  There's who and what we want to be ... and there's who and what we are, coupled together with the anxiety that neither is accepted while hoping that everything will be okay. A divorce drama here that navigates the nuances of all that, and the effect such tragicomedies have on us... read more all, amazingly done with humility and forgiveness by Noah Baumbach, and facillitated by a superb cast hitting on all cylinders.

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  January 8, 2012

  cosmo313

  With the greatest amount of respect, I would like to compliment this film on being, essentially, "Woody Allen light". It is a finely observed independent dramedy that is a semi-autobiographichal story about how a divorce effects primarily two siblings, but their bickering also.
  
  ... read moreThe story is set in Brooklyn in 1986. Bernard Berkman is a writer whose career has stalled, so he focuses primarily on being an English professor. His wife Joan also writes, and her prospects for success seem to be on the rise. Their marriage has long been flailing, but when they decide to make an official split, that's when things get really interesting. Their oldest son Walt is 16, and takes after hsi dad quite a lot, but while his father's pretentiousness seems more genuine, Walt is just a poser, and he may not even realize it. Frank is 12 and his hormones have really begun to rage. He spends his spare time drinking PBR, and masturbating, spreading his semen across places such as school lockers and the library.
  
  It doesn't take long for the kids ot choose sides, with the bulk of the film being a battle of sorts between personalities, the effect of the split on the kids, and a character study on how each of them views the world and comes to learn a lesson of some sort. Along the way Joan begins a little something with Frank's tennis instructor Ivan, while Bernard raises eyebrows by letting one of his students- a 20 year-old coed who writes racy, provocative fiction named Lili- stay with him until she can find a new place to live.
  
  I can't say that I personally have lived through the specific sorts of things that take place here, but I do know (quite well in some cases) the types of people portrayed here enough to say that the film really nails it, espeically the cloying pretentious intellectuals who just don't get it sometimes and the ridiculous, though not implausible pet names some people give their children (Joan refers to Walt and Frank and chicken and pickle, respectively). The film seems like it borders on caricature at times, but ultimately, these are real characters, and this is a very genuine and honest piece of work.
  
  The casting and the performances are brilliant. Jeff Daniels, sporting a nice looking full beard is in top form as Bernard, and Laura Linney gives another solid turn as Joan. As Walt, Jesse Eisenberg shows an early version of his Zuckerberg, and he does a great job at playing the burgeoning (though clueless) intellectual poser. As Frank, newcomer Owen Kline (the son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) is a revelation, and I'd love to see him get more work. William Baldwin puts in fine supporting work as Ivan, Anna Paquin is great as Lili, and her character is good enough to have her own movie. Halley Feifer is okay as Walt's potential squeeze Sophie, though she kinda gets the short end of the stick in the long run.
  
  All in all, this is an excellent film, and I highly recommend it. It can be quite awkward and painful at times, but also painfully funny as well. It's not for all tastes, but if you like off beat indies that are about pretentious people, but aren't themselves pretentious, then give this one a watch.

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  December 7, 2011

  blkbomb

  Walt Berkman: It's like... we were pals then... we'd do things together... we'd look at the knight armor at the Met. The scary fish at the Natural History Museum. I was always afraid of the squid and whale fighting. I can only look at it with my hands in front of my face. 
  
  "Join... read moret Custody Blows."
  
  The Squid and the Whale is one of the most honest looks at a divorce torn family that I have ever seen. No unnecessary melodrama is added to the situation. Everything that occurs because of the divorce is realistic and understandable. The film is funny and sad in the way it approaches the story.
  
  The movie opens on a family of four playing tennis together. Competitive sports always bring out the worst in people, especially when they are already mad. We can see after the first tennis match scene, that the husband/wife relationship isn't on the best of terms. The two end up separating and deciding on a joint custody where their two kids change houses practically every night, but like in most separations, each kid picks the one he likes and tries to only be with that parent. 
  
  I loved this movie, but genuinely hated all four of the characters. The father, a writer, was a pretentious and egotistical dick. The mother seemed like the best of the two, but still had cheated on her husband. That isn't exactly why I hate her though because you can't really blame her. The biggest reason I hate both of them is because their messed up relationship screwed their kids up. The oldest of the brothers is like his father. He is also a pretentious and egotistical dick. The youngest tries to be the opposite of his father and is severely messed up. He does some weird shit, like masturbating in public places.
  
  The whole cast really brings their A-game. Jeff Daniels performance is the best I have ever seen from him. Jesse Eisenberg gives an equally solid early performance that kid of showed what was to come with The Social Network. Laura Linney also gives an extremely realistic performance, which ended up being my favorite performance I have seen from her. 
  
  I thought this movie was just about as perfect as these divorce/family dramas go. It's up at the level of Kramer vs. Kramer, and that is really saying something. The Squid and the Whale is a must see.

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  October 27, 2011

  fb1664868775

  Baumbach's look at divorce is the work of a great writer/director and it shows that he can hang with his friend Wes Anderson.

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  September 6, 2011

  theunknownhobo

  Insightful, funny and painfully genuine, this movie is a black comedy in the rough. Heartfelt performances from the entire cast depicting insufferable intellects and a severely fractured family. Deeply moving, this movie manages to depict real people, in a real situation with som... read moreetimes completely unreal but masterfully honest outcomes. A truly magnificent piece of cinema.

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  May 22, 2011

  fernandorafael

  At first glance, everything is sort of light and funny, but once it gets going, it's a really painful and heavy movie. The characters aren't exactly likeable (and you know they aren't when you find yourself siding with a 12-year old who curses, drinks beer and masturbates in the ... read moreschool library and his cheating mother), but the talented cast presents them as strangely sympathetic. Jeff Daniels, Jesse Eisenberg and especially Laura Linney and Owen Kline are superb.

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  January 21, 2011

  paulkoh110

  Joint custody blows.
  This tale of a modern day divorced family is both sad but true. With amazing performances from Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, and Jesse Eisenberg, this is one of Noah Baumbach's best films.

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  January 7, 2011

  danperry17

  Overall, I liked Noah Baumbach's more-or-less autobiographical divorce story. Virtually no characters are likeable, and most of them get no closure. The parents are assholes, the kids have each absorbed the parents' worst traits, and the central metaphor (of a squid and a whale f... read moreighting) doesn't show up until the movie's three-quarters over.
  
  But on the other hand, this film didn't depress me half as much as I expected it would, and the acting was fantastic. I think I maintained some detachment, even though I watched my own parents divorce... and that was at once a freeing and disappointing experience, as a viewer. It should have shattered me, but there was virtually no identification with the characters. Are they realistic, or are they grotesques? Either way, this is a movie that will make you think, even if (at 82 minutes long!) it comes up a little short, in both runtime and story. A great one for Wes Anderson fans, but otherwise average. I'm truly of two minds about this one.

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  December 2, 2010

  5oclockcoffee

  she: you're calling me a bitch?
  he: no, don`t you remember the last line of Godard`s À bout de souffle? Belmondo calls Seberg a bitch.
  
  Noah Baumbach gives us not only an honest portrayal of a marriage falling apart and the difficults of growing up, but also the process of fal... read moreling apart our self-assumed/created masks and roles.
  Are you a philistine or a non-philistine? Apparently complex, but deep down nothing but "common" characters. As Nietzsche would say: human, all too human.
  
  
  

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  November 27, 2010

  stevenecarrier

  "The Squid and the Whale" is brisk and dense. Expertly performed and written. Unflinchingly, desperately honest; just like it's characters.

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• Jeff Daniels as Bernard Berkman
• Laura Linney as Joan Berkman
• Jesse Eisenberg as Walt Berkman
• Owen Kline as Frank Berkman
• William Baldwin as Ivan
• Halley Feifer as Sophie
• Anna Paquin as Lili
• Ken Leung as School Counselor

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• • Bernard Berkman: What is it about high school, that you read all the worst books by good writers?
• • Walt Berkman: It's like... we were pals then... we'd do things together... we'd look at the knight armor at the Met. The scary fish at the Natural History Museum. I was always afraid of the squid and whale fighting. I can only look at it with my hands in front of my face.
• • Frank Berkman: Mom and me versus you and Dad.

• Which band or singer did Walt steal his song from in 'The Squid and the Whale'?  Answer »
• What actress links the movies "The Piano", "25th Hour", "Amistad", "The Squid and the Whale" and "Fly Away Home"?  Answer »
• In the Squid and the Whale, what does Bernard recommend his son see on his date besides Short Circuit?  Answer »
• I couldn't bag a buck in Escanaba in Da Moonlight, I dealt with my divorced parents in the Squid and the Whale, I plugged up a toilet in Dumb and Dumber. Who am I?  Answer »

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