The Squid and the Whale (2005) User Reviews

Moral of the Story: Divorce Is Tough

[evanston_dad · 8/10 · 22 November 2005]

A friend of mine was hesitant to see this movie, because she'd heard that it pushes the agenda that divorce is never a good option for dealing with marital problems. I don't really know who told her this, and I hope this same reason isn't keeping others from seeing it. This isn't at all what I took away from the film. It certainly communicates the idea that divorce isn't easy, on either the parents or the kids, but I don't feel that it pronounces judgement on those who turn to it as an option.

"The Squid and the Whale" is a sad--though at times very funny--look at what divorce does to one family in 1986 New York. Jeff Daniels plays the dad, a pompous, arrogant writer whose feelings of commercial failure (he teaches literature at a university) cause him to act intellectually superior to everyone he meets. Daniels is almost too good in this role; he reminded me way too much of people I actually know who are like this. He's the kind of guy who would be deadly at a dinner party, because there's no such thing as a casual or flippant remark in this guy's presence. He analyzes everything to death, and isn't content until everyone's opinion matches his own.

Laura Linney plays the wayward mom, blamed for the break up of the marriage by the dad because of a string of affairs she carries on. Her guilt keeps her from being able to discipline her sons, especially the oldest, who treats her horribly. Linney's role is smaller but in some ways much more complex than Daniels'. Her character has to take responsibility for her infidelity but still make the audience sympathize with her.

Caught in the middle of this mess are their two boys. The oldest quickly allies himself with his dad, and walks around regurgitating his father's opinions on every subject, rarely pausing to form any of his own. The younger son, more sensitive and tired of being intellectually brow beaten by his father and older brother, sticks closer to the mom. No one is totally to blame, yet no one is completely innocent either in this honest and frank film.

Noah Baumbach has made no secret of the fact that it is based on his own adolescent life, and it has that confessional feeling that movies in this genre frequently do. There are awkward moments when this doesn't totally work. The ending for one is rather ham-fisted, and a scene between the oldest son and his school therapist seemed awfully pat to me. But the acting and the sharp writing make up for these weaknesses, and the movie manages to be poignant without ever becoming maudlin or overly sentimental.

See it for the performances of Linney and especially Daniels, who has been proving his versatility as an actor over the last few years.

Grade: A-

One Turtle would have made it Better

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 30 October 2005]

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/Director (and Wes Anderson collaborator) Noah Baumbach presents a semi-autobiographical therapy session where he unleashes the anguish and turmoil that has carried over from his childhood. The result is an amazing insight into what many people go through in a desperate attempt to try and make their family work.

The casting of Jeff Daniels forces us to view him as the grown up Flap from "Terms of Endearment". He has become a bitter, unfocused, pompous ass of a person, father, husband and professor. The inability to recapture the magic of his early writing success has caused him to look down on all other writers ... whether they be Fitzgerald or his own wife. This is Daniels' best work ever on screen and is at once, painful and a joy to behold.

Laura Linney plays his wife as a woman who loves her kids unequivocally and has a zest for life that her downbeat husband no longer shares. Her new found success as a writer sets her off on a trail of confidence and joy, all the while understanding that her family still needs her very much.

The kids really take the film to the next level. Jessie Eisenberg (brilliant in "Roger Dodger") and Owen Kline (son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) are both scene stealers as they struggle in their own distinct ways with their separated parents and their continuance through adolescence. Watching Eisenberg's worship his dad and subsequently realize the truth is just amazing stuff. Kline's outbursts on the tennis court and at the ping pong table are nothing compared to his discovery of alcohol and self-pleasure. The angst and pain these two experience is felt by millions of kids in divorce situations.

Other outstanding performances include William Baldwin (the one from "Backdraft"), Holly Feifer (as Eisenberg's first girlfriend) and Anna Paquin (underused, but still very effective). Baldwin provides some comic relief with his incessant "my brother" narrative and Feifer is extraordinary in capturing teen adoration as she lusts after Eisenberg. Thanks to her distinct similarity in looks to Linney, I laughed outloud when Daniels tells Eisenberg "she's not my type".

Listening to Daniels try to manipulate everyone he communicates with causes immense dislike among viewers, but we can't help but feel some empathy for him as he seems to believe he is doing all he can do put his family back together. His fatherly advice is not to be missed (or followed!). Watching him look for the perfect parking place is really his search for his place in a world that has deserted him.

Baumbach has created a terrific film and probably exorcised some personal demons along the way. Definitely not a film for the whole family, but it offers much insight and many messages. Also the use of the soundtrack is downright brilliant including key music from Pink Floyd and Loudon Wainright.

I've never been so interested in people I don't care about

[rooprect · 8/10 · 5 September 2013]

The opening scene hits us with a bunch of characters who are so unlikeable that you may wonder what's the point in watching their lives for 81 minutes. In hindsight, and after watching the DVD interview with writer/director Noah Baumbach, I'm sure this was deliberate. By disliking (or rather disconnecting from) the characters at the outset, the audience can take a more objective, emotionless view of this dysfunctional family--much the same way the family approaches itself.

So don't expect many weepy scenes where you say to yourself, "I feel exactly like that character!" Because unless you're an egotistical snob of a father who ironically swears like a common sailor at his kids, or unless you're the cluelessly devoted son who parrots everything the father says, or the passive-aggressive mother who has affairs rather than confront her marital problems, or the younger son who seems pretty cool until he inexplicably starts doing disgusting things in the library (and I mean disgusting!), then I don't think you'll immediately associate with any character in the film. Not the way you might in a standard Hollywood crowd pleaser.

If you can make it past that, "The Squid and the Whale" becomes a thoroughly engaging, entertaining, and at times funny experience. It kept me riveted from start to finish, and I found myself wishing it had been longer.

A word about the humor: don't expect any big gags. In fact, in the interview Noah talks about how he had to tell the actors *not* to read their lines as if they're funny. He didn't intend it to be a comedy, but still (owing largely to the fantastic deadpan performances by Jeff Daniels & Jesse Eisenberg) you might find yourself cracking up at how plain bizarre everything is. Jeff Daniels (the father) in particular plays such a satirical caricature of a horrible parent that there's no other way to interpret his character than: a clown.

Something that has to be mentioned is the setting & time period of this film. Brooklyn 1986. Although I'm not a Brooklynite, I can speak as an 80s kid who loved all the minor references... clothes, hairstyles, Burger King collectible glasses at the dinner table, and the music! They picked a few gems I probably haven't heard since '86. All of this adds tremendous authenticity to the story and takes you on a sort of fantasy ride. It's hard to believe they got 21st century Brooklyn to look like 1986 on a small indie budget of $1.5 million, but I thought it was flawless.

On a filmmaking level, I noticed some cute nods to the French New Wave school of film (handheld cameras swinging back & forth for jarring effect à la "Jules & Jim" by Truffaut) and a general Godard-ish, brooding vibe to the whole presentation while not afraid to show bright, vibrant scenes. Whether or not you're a fan of New Wave, if you like unconventional camera work you'll probably get a kick out of Noah's approach.

Film I would compare this to are the excellent "City Island" which is on the lighter side, "The Savages" which is on the darker side, and "The Beaver" which is on the mildly psychotic side. Don't hesitate to see any one of them if you get the chance.

Disturbing

[MysteryTW · 6/10 · 29 April 2020]

Although I liked this movie, I found it disturbing. They all need counseling, especially the kids. The younger one had some behaviors that made me wonder about a serial killer in the making. Luckily, he didn't seem to have the mental make up for that. Neither kid was on a path to becoming a "healthy, functioning" adult. The end was slightly abrupt and left me feeling conflicted and a bit disturbed.

depressingly refreshing

[gdsoul · 9/10 · 8 November 2005]

More acutely than I've experienced in a long time, this film captures the process of personality inheritance within families. The interaction/influence between Bernard and Walt is almost painful to watch at times, but it's completely rich. Beyond just that father/son dynamic, the story is so poignant without ever getting sappy - a true accomplishment for a family drama involving divorce. Nothing hits you over the head. Nothing seems too forced. While there's plenty of confusion, discomfort, and alienation, a sense of love shines through, and I couldn't help but get attached to all of the characters. I recommend this film unconditionally.

Sensitive Family and Coming to Age Drama

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 20 November 2007]

In1986, In Brooklyn, New York, the dysfunctional family of pseudo intellectuals composed by the university professor Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and the prominent writer Joan (Laura Linney) split. Bernard is a selfish, cheap and jealous decadent writer that rationalizes every attitude in his family and life and does not accept "philistines" - people that do not read books or watch movies, while the unfaithful Joan is growing as a writer and has no problems with "philistines". Their sons, the teenager Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and the boy Frank (Owen Kline), feel the separation and take side: Walt stays with Bernard, and Frank with Joan, and both are affected with abnormal behaviors. Frank drinks booze and smears with sperm the books in the library and a locker in the dress room of his school. The messed-up and insecure Walt uses Roger Water's song "Hey You" in a festival as if it was of his own, and breaks with his girlfriend Sophie (Halley Feiffer). Meanwhile Joan has an affair with Frank's tennis teacher Ivan (William Baldwyn) and Bernard with his student Lili (Anna Paquin).

This little family and coming to age drama is a sensitive story, apparently based on the self-biography of the director and writer Noah Baumbach. The story is very well acted and develops a phase of separation of the couple Bernard and Joan and its effects in their sons Walt and Frank. The moment of the conclusion is pretentious and deceptive, with Walt in the American Museum of Natural History recalling a good – or maybe the best - moment of his life looking at a giant squid fighting a whale displayed in the museum. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Lula e a Baleia" ("The Squid and the Whale")

It was 1986, and the 17 year marriage was coming unraveled.

[TxMike · 19 April 2006]

I mused as I watched this movie, they were married in 1969, and 17 years later, in 1986, they found themselves only able to get a divorce. I married in 1968, and 17 years later, in 1985, I was also getting a divorce. Like that couple, I don't think I ever knew for sure why.

Jeff Daniels is Bernard Berkman, professor and author who was absolutely manipulative, of his students, his wife, their sons -- whatever it took to get past the moment. He loved no one, not even himself, and got great joy out of such conquests as beating his young son in ping-pong. And giving his teenage son advice to play the field, women are objects for the pleasure of men.

Laura Linney is Bernard's wife Joan. After she found out that she could be a successful writer, she began to tire of her husband's overbearing ways. But she too was weak, and had been having an affair for several years. That they broke up was not the fault of either. They grew in different directions and were unable to see the situation realistically. That probably is the most common symptom of this kind of breakup.

Caught in the middle are the two sons, Walt and Frank. Walt, the teen, idolizes his dad, and in a very shallow manner talks scholarly about things he has not taken the time to read. He "composes" a song for a school talent show, wins the prize, but it is discovered that he took a song that had already been written. When asked why, he responded, "I could have written that song. The fact that someone else did was just a technicality."

For the most part the movie is very unusual, but also very well written and interesting. Here we have these flawed people trying to navigate through this family mess, and somehow they seem they will survive. It has a nice touch of realism through it, and is also very funny at times.

The title comes from's Walt's fear, as a small child, of the squid and whale exhibit at the museum.

Not a Date Movie: A Lacerating Look at the Impact of Divorce on Adolescent Sons

[noralee · 7/10 · 21 October 2005]

"The Squid and the Whale" is such a corrosive look at marriage and child rearing that it could inspire a backlash among parents to ban arts education, if not literacy altogether, from the schools in order to prevent their children from revenging upon them as much as writer/director Noah Baumbach does on his family, notwithstanding the usual closing disclaimer of fiction.

Almost as raw as the old PBS documentary series "An American Family," it is such a savage look at divorce that it could also be used to discourage people from getting married in the first place, let alone having kids or considering moving to a kibbutz where the kids would be raised communally. Evidently it was cathartic for Baumbach as he did get married when the film was completed (and his now spouse is thanked in the credits).

Produced by Wes Anderson, it seems like the nonfiction inspiration for "The Royal Tenenbaums," with urban, urbane siblings who aspire to be a writer and a tennis pro. The tennis, and ping pong, images repeat continuously throughout as the kids are bounced back and forth between the parents in a very negative portrayal of competitive joint custody, where even a parent moving close by is torture - "The other side of the park - is that even in Brooklyn?", vividly demonstrating how small a kid's world is.

Baumbach has clearly studied Woody Allen movies, also in smoothly incorporating very funny lines, and he uses Brooklyn, specifically the Park Slope neighborhood, like Allen uses Manhattan, street by street, subway stop by subway stop, though this surely will reinforce every prejudice the rest of the country has against raising kids in the city. I doubt out-of-towners will understand the karmic significances of looking for and finding a parking space. The final scenes in Manhattan seem an intentionally cathartic solution as in "Saturday Night Fever."

Jeff Daniels plays an even more obnoxious father as writer than Jeff Bridges in "The Door in the Floor" (ironically, as Daniels says he's frequently mistaken for Bridges by fans). He is frighteningly judgmental, hypercritical, selfish, competitive and all around emotional abuser, and out and out neglectful, though I'm not sure Oprah would do a show about this kind of abuse. He has absolutely no sense of appropriate boundaries between his pre-adolescent/adolescent sons and himself, and involves them in way too adult views that damage how they can be age appropriate. (Though it is a bit too arch to have his writing career be on the skids while his wife's begins to flourish.)

This is one of the few films about kids I've seen lately where the use of profanity is appropriately shocking as in this hyper articulate family it is emblematic of the family's break down in communication as the kids blithely parrot what they hear at home without understanding much of what they are talking about.

The younger generation handles scabrous lines of detailed dialog magnificently. Jesse Eisenberg had to endure similarly nasty lessons about male-female relationships in "Roger Dodger" and takes it a step further here. Owen Kline, Kevin's talented son, handles with aplomb scenes that reveal quite more about pre-adolescent boys than most females, even their mothers, may comfortably want to explicitly know goes on. The lacerating men and women of "Closer" at least didn't have kids and in "We Don't Live Here Anymore" (with another tempted college professor) the kids were fairly obliviously very young. This film very clearly illuminates how brutal deteriorating parental relationships are on older children, particularly in how they relate to the opposite sex. I assume we're supposed to feel positive at the end that the kids' cries for help are finally being heard, but I'm not sure the parents have grown or changed.

The other kids in smaller parts are also very natural. Laura Linney's beauty is downplayed for some reason. She doesn't usually get to be maternal in films and she shows that warmth in lovely ways here. I'm pretty sure William Baldwin's character is intended to be both bland and annoying. Anna Paquin doesn't get much to work with as the usual student temptress in the plot, though she brings a certain ditsy cheerfulness to the role.

The music is wonderful, including a score by Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham of Luna. A Loudon Wainwright song, who has written extensively of similar father/son issues, closes over the credits. Pink Floyd figures in the plot and it is a bit hard to believe that the parents of Park Slope in 1985 were not familiar with Roger Waters.

This is not a date movie -- unless you want to break up with the person afterwards or tell your spouse you want a divorce or tell your significant other you definitely never want to have kids.

Well Drawn Characters

[mkillian · 8/10 · 1 December 2005]

It's interesting to read all of the comments and how each reviewer has found something unique that calls to them. Some reviewers have focused on the boys or the father or the mother. Different scenes have been noted, almost none by more than one reviewer. What this tells me is that the writer/director has crafted a story in which all of the scenes contribute to the whole. This was my experience watching the movie. It was believable, well shot, great backgrounds, all in all a treat for anyone who loves movies and can handle some pretty raw dialog/situations.....and nothing gets blown up.

I would recommend this only for adults or a very mature teenager. The language and situations are tough but as I said, very believable. I identified with much of what the teens in this movie are going through and my sympathies definitely sided with them against their self-involved and self-indulgent parents. This is the best role I've ever seen Jeff Daniels in and having known men in my life like his character I think he was spot-on with his portrayal. There were no weak characterizations with any of the actors, for that matter.

Very real learning experience, but ultimately boring

[siderite · 7/10 · 13 July 2006]

This movie is a good film, that's for sure. The actors perform brilliantly and the script is original and touching. However, all this is boring.

I guess people with an interest in the social aspect of one's life will find this very nice and good. For the parents (and children) who are on the same path as the character, should they choose to really understand the movie, it will be a learning experience that will save them from a lot of pain and anguish.

OK, the guy is a cowardly hypocrite that hides behind his intellectual aura tons of frustration and, surely enough, stupidity. The woman leaves a life of discomfort and maybe even fear, but lacks the courage to do anything about it. She cheats on the husband then leaves clues to it, so that the responsibility of the divorce would fall on him. The sons pick sides based on age, both mimicking behaviour that they don't understand yet, and thus making fools of themselves. Very weird and socially tense situations, but that's it. After the first half an hour you know everything there is to know, only the awkward situations remain, in a hostile, not humorous manner.

The ending is as devoid of resolution as the entire content. The problems are there, you know what, where, when and how, but there is no solution. In the end, the film is nothing but a portrait, you either like it or you don't.

Patricide with a dull knife

[mklein-4 · 10/10 · 25 September 2005]

Noah Baumbach takes a loving (oh?) stab at his parents' divorce, brought on by the hilariously immature antics of his father, and my writing professor, the ever pompous Jonathan Baumbach (Jeff Daniels).

Brooklyn College was a hotbed of activism and liberal arts when I first encountered Jonathan Baumbach (rechristened "Bernard" in the film, a sly wink at Jonathan's mentor and hero, Bernard Malamud). The arrogance and complete lack of self awareness is perfectly captured by Daniels in his over-the-top performance which, amazingly, underplays the actual father.

To call the picture patricidal is to completely miss the point; Baumbach pere is so self centered, he likely sees the film as an homage. Baumbach Sr. is a great writer; he receives good reviews in the literary journals and his books sell in the hundreds. Baumbach Jr., on the other hand, is a great filmmaker, and his movies (The Life Aquatic) are seen by millions. I'm sure the father is disappointed that the son isn't pursuing tenure at a small Ohio college.

I saw this film in a cozy college theater at the Toronto Film Festival. I half expected to run into Jonathan Baumbach, in his leather patched tweed jacket, preening for the audience and eying the coeds.

Funny and poignant. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to choke the bastard.

The Squid and the Whale

[film_riot · 7/10 · 24 May 2007]

This is what I call fresh film-making. With "The Squid and the Whale", writer-director Noah Baumbach made a funny, sad, intelligent and sometimes bizarre film with great characters. If you haven't heard anything of it before you might think you're watching the latest Wes Anderson-film because of the characters. The father (brilliantly played by Jeff Daniels): a writer without success, but a huge ego. The mother (equally brilliant: Laura Linney): the most "normal" of the bunch, with an interesting taste in men. The kids (Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline): playing cover versions of Pink Floyd and pretending having written them themselves or masturbating and spreading the semen on books and school lockers. But "The Squid and the Whale" has more than just its characters. It's a precise analysis of family divorce and the dynamics behind it. When mother and son are done with blaming each other and are starting to try to understand what each of them is going through, that is actually a really heart-warming moment. And if I'm allowed to say it, also a typical Wes Anderson-moment.

"Superficial and Detached"

[louchelle23 · 1/10 · 7 October 2011]

When I saw that this film was directed by the brilliant writer/director Noah Baumbach, I was excited. However, when I bought this film without seeing it beforehand...I immediately regretted it. "The Squid and the Whale" is an extremely pretentious film with a very stilted script and a very disappointing performance from all of the cast except for Owen Kline. The overall feel of the film was scripted, stilted, and superficial; and I was hoping that the acting would save this awful film but it didn't. I even thought that Anna Paquin's acting was sub-par, given her small yet important role in the film. I wanted to like this movie...I did...but I just couldn't in the end. So I give this film 1 of 10 stars. And I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone...except for insomniacs. Actually...not even them.

The New York Intelligensia Behaving Badly

[dj_bassett · 17 December 2005]

A family breaks apart, mainly because the father is an irredeemable prick.

Not bad, though the critics have been overrating this one -- I suspect because many of them recognize themselves in the characters. (This is the SIDEWAYS of 2005.) It's most notable for Daniels's excellent performance: he is fantastic as the selfish, narcissistic, self-pitying, pompous, cheapskate burnt-out writer. It's a caricature, but a wickedly accurate one of a certain type.

As for the rest of the movie, though, it's okay but plays it too predictable within it's mini-genre. The battle lines are too clearly drawn, we know from the start who's side we should be on. The strained metaphor of the squid and the whale is worked at dutifully, but uninterestingly. The two big music pieces in the movie come from Roger Waters-era Floyd and Lou Reed, which for a certain pretentious generation are as much totems as anything Daniels character spits out. (This could be meant ironically, but I suspect not -- it's probably more symptomatic of the movie's essential unreflectiveness.)

Squirmy sometimes outweighs funny in this coming of age-cum-divorce comedy

[Chris Knipp · 7/10 · 17 November 2005]

(Shown at the New York Film Festival, Lincoln Center September 26 and 28, 2005, US release (NY) October 5, 2005.)

Baumbach has crafted a "semi-autobiographical" but fully specific comedy about growing up with a little brother in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn in the Eighties -- when their literary parents are splitting up. Baumbach co-wrote "The Life Aquatic" with Wes Anderson; here he's on his own. A bearded Jeff Daniels and plain Laury Linney give balanced readings of their parts as a pretentious writing teacher whose days of published success fade while his wife gets a book contract and her novel is excerpted in "The New Yorker." Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline are fine as the two brothers Walt and Frank who have to deal with the colder details of joint custody while their parents are still throwing verbal barbs at each other and rumors of earlier adulteries are coming out, and issues such as who gets the cat -- and the special edition of Bellow's "The Victim" -- are as yet unresolved. William Baldwin is funny but one-note as a laid-back tennis coach called Ivan who turns out to be a wild card. The boys rebel in their different ways and the details of teenage sexuality are painfully detailed. Some will find their antics and their warring parents' tirades squirmy-funny; others will find them just squirmy. There are more embarrassing moments than revelatory ones, but for those who've been there, just seeing the situations may be satisfying enough. Baumbach works in close to his subject for sure. The social and period details are very specific and there are some good scenes.

This is an intelligent autobiographical comedy, but the New York critics have gone a bit overboard in praising it, perhaps because it's a story so close to the New York literary scene, and reviewers from Chicago, Seattle, and Texas have fallen over each other to agree. Baumbach is deemed brilliant because he captures the foibles of the literary intellectual and the adolescent male. Note, however, that the depiction of foibles is as far as the story goes. Its young hero isn't off to anywhere, and the movie is in little discrete chunks, but without the elaborate and complex geniality of "The Life Aquatic." Burnbaum's family provides him with a small canvas, and though his portrait of the father is cruel, it does not go deep, and nobody is depicted with any nuance. Still, there is a lot to like here, and kids with divorced parents may find this therapeutic, as the writer/director clearly did.

Your Mother's Brother Ned was a Philistine

[WriterDave · 9/10 · 2 April 2006]

Noah Baumbach's semi-autobiographical tale of divorce in the mid-1980's in Brooklyn is funny and touching and ranks right up there with the best work of Woody Allen or Sophia Coppola as superb bourgeois cinema where we are treated to the neurotic underbelly of over-educated, over-indulged, upwardly mobile, urban middle class families. This a wonderful film imbued with a fantastic sense of place and time and small details in which the viewer can find great delight (like the hilarious scene where Jeff Daniels takes his teenage son and the kid's new girlfriend to see David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" instead of the first choice "Short Circuit" or the closing shot of the actual squid fighting a whale at the NYC Musueum of Natural History).

Jeff Daniels is slyly funny as the cheapskate, snobbish father who was once the toast of the literary world and is now just getting by on teaching. Laura Linney is again perfection (when is she not, really) as the mother just starting her own brilliant literary career and who is a bit too open about her sexuality with her children. While the parents bicker over custody (even the cat gets to skate between two homes), the older son acts out by plagiarizing Pink Floyd in a talent show and nervous encounters with girls (one of whom is his father's live-in student/lover played by the always alluring Anna Paquin), and the younger son (a very good Owen Kline-real life son of Kevin Kline and Pheobe Cates) turns to drinking alone and public masturbation.

It's all as awkward, real, and devastatingly funny as it sounds. A great script and even better acting highlight this tale of a family on the skids. Every member of the family is brilliantly brought to life and even though they are acting in their own flawed, selfish, self-annihilating and myopic ways, they still endear themselves to the audience like they are our own family.

Bottom line: Only a Philistine would turn down the chance to enjoy "The Squid and the Whale."

Inconclusive...

[jre_f · 7/10 · 28 August 2023]

There wasn't much wrong with it but for the lack of an ending. At 81 mins long, they could have added another 10 to tie up even some the many loose ends. It is totally infuriating when films do this!!

There is no real sense of whether the two parents relationship will improve, does the dads health get better, do their career and money situations ease, if the boys will have a better relationship with the opposing parent, does the younger sibling get it back together again or does he sort of slide further off the rails, seeing a kid hammering the bears down at 13 years old doesn't fill you a lot of hope!!

That was the thing that spoilt it for me that it was just so totally inconclusive.

Great script and a cast of champions

[ElijahB22 · 10/10 · 19 September 2005]

Almost a perfect movie. Everyone needs to see this one.

Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney are both extraordinary. Factor in the performances of Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline and this may be the most well-acted movie I've seen in a couple of years.

I've never enjoyed watching Daniels so much. Kline hits a home-run in his first major role. Eisenberg's performance is Oscar-worthy. (Yes, Daniels is great, but Eisenberg earns a Best Supporting Actor nomination in this one!)

What I enjoyed most of all is how some very, VERY delicate humor is brilliantly woven throughout this incredibly sad movie.

Cheers to Noah Baumbach for putting his life on paper and letting these terrific actors tell the tale.

That's it. Thanks for reading.

conflict

[leopoldfrank · 6/10 · 18 April 2006]

I'll quickly run through the bits of my review I'm least interested in saying. It's about a family with 2 kids going through a divorce. The acting is great. The music is like a WA (you'll hear his name more in a moment) film but not quite as subtle.

And so... I had few expectations before going to see this other than knowing it was about divorce and by Noah Baumbach who had worked with Wes Anderson who has made a couple of films that I love.

From the start the similarities were obvious. The Wes Anderson direction was there but with a story with more emotional depth. As well as loving WA I love emotional films so I thought this was going to be great but, unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed by the end.

The WA style of direction is done very well but is just too facetious and ended up neutralising any of the emotional depth the story had to offer. The focus of the story seemed to bounce around too randomly from character to character and the pace was all over the place not leaving the mind enough time to settle and slide naturally from one feeling to the next.

I find myself being really disappointed, not because it wasn't that good, more because the writing and the acting were of such a high standard that perhaps if it had been directed with more sensitivity it could have been a classic.

The break up

[jotix100 · 10/10 · 20 October 2005]

Noah Baumbach, the immensely talented writer, and director of "The Squid and the Whale" clearly demonstrates he is one of the brightest young directors working in America today. Having admired his previous films, we were looking forward to this new work in which he presents a part of his life, baring his soul, something some other movie makers would shy away from. This experience must have been a painful reminder for Mr. Baumbah of his past, or maybe it served as a catharsis.

If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading here.

The Berkman household in Park Slope, Brooklyn, appears to be normal when we are introduced to the family. These are the kinds of parents that encourage their two children participate in discussions in which books are at the center of the conversation. What's more, Walt, the eldest boy, seems to know a lot about what is discussed. Bernard, the father, is an author that hasn't got a lot of recognition and now teaches college to support the family. Joan, the mother, also a writer, is starting to get her work published. The two sons, Walt and Frank are clever beyond their years.

Evidently, not all seems to be happy in the house. First, one notices Bernard making the couch in the morning, in which he has slept in order to "ease his back problems". Joan, is a supporting mother, but somehow, she appears to be distant. Both parents sit with the kids one night to tell them about their impending separation. Of course, this takes Frank, and especially Frank aback by the announcement. The semblance of a tightly knit family begins to unravel in front of the children's eyes.

For Walt, the situation is not as crucial as it is for Frank. Being older and being a city kid, Walt has seen this happening among his age group. For Frank, however, his parents break up is the end of the world, as he knew it. Both boys are resilient in accepting the situation. It's clear Bernard and Joan love their sons, but the idea of not having both parents around at the same time is devastating.

"The Squid and the Whale" is a film that lays bare the emotions the two boys are experiencing. Basically, it's their film as it shows how they have to adjust to the new circumstances. They both adore their parents, but the resentment is clear as they blame Bernard and Joan for daring to fall out of love and in a way, abandon them to a new reality the older Berkmans didn't prepared them for.

The quality of the acting Mr. Baumbach gets from this ensemble cast is absolutely amazing. We believe we are, in a way, intruding in this family's problems. We are voyeurs to the tragedy their separation presents for the boys. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney are perfect as the elder Berkmans. Mr. Daniels, especially, gives an inspired performance for his take of the stingy Bernard. Ms. Linney, one of our best actresses, is marvelous as Joan.

What the director has done with the young actors, Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline is something incredible. We can't think of any other director that could have accomplished what Noah Baumbach has in guiding them to make the great contribution both these teen agers gave to the film. Both actors are up to the task and there are never a false move from anyone of them.

The supporting cast is interesting. William Baldwin plays the tennis pro Ivan. Anna Paquin is good as Lili, Bernard's student that is wiser than her young years indicate. Halley Feiffer is perfectly sweet as Sophie who likes Walt.

The film has been photographed in a faded technique by Robert Yeoman that gives the film a nostalgic look. The musical score is fine, reflecting the era in which the movie takes place.

The movie is a triumph for Noah Baumbah who clearly shows he is an unique voice for these times.

um, . . not so much

[losdzez · 6/10 · 23 September 2005]

The acting in this film is hands down excellent, no question.

Maybe it's the fact that my divorce wasn't this weird and we managed not to destroy our son when we split, or maybe I just don't understand why we needed to see a pre-adolescent boy masturbate and wipe his semen on things . . .

But I really didn't enjoy this film as much as endure it with great hope that it would come alive at some point. It didn't.

The parents in this family are far too annoying and screwed up for me to care about anything but keeping them from messing up the kids, which, well, it's too late.

The first 2/3rds of this film we are watching the younger son slowly disintegrate into what seems like insanity while the older son just pisses us off with his inane bullcrap. When we start to feel something for this older boy, the movie becomes interesting, and then abruptly ends, leaving us unclear about the sadly screwed up younger boy. Or about anything else.

It's not clear what's happening with any of the characters, and we almost don't care at all, not even about the boys.

The film is gritty and uncomfortable and we don't find anyone very sympathetic. It's simply sad and disturbing, but not in a way that sparks intelligent conversation about the ravages of divorce or the intelligence of Pink Floyd lyrics -- more in a way that makes you wish you hadn't seen the film.

Literary autobiography with heartfelt humor; Daniels' career best and Oscar worthy

[george.schmidt · 10/10 · 7 October 2005]

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005) **** Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jessie Eisenberg, Owen Kline, Anna Paquin, William Baldwin.

Literary autobiography with heartfelt humor.

Filmmaker Noah Baumbach is back in fine form since his debut with the excellent "Kicking and Screaming" (a personal fave of mine; a "Diner" for the '90s) in this semi-autobiographical account of his family's dealing with his parent's divorce with bittersweet frankness and a heaping of witty humor.

The family Berkman of Park Slope, Brooklyn circa the early 1980s, consists of author/teacher Bernard (Daniels in a career high performance that deserves an Oscar nod), literary pursuant mother Joan (Linney sublimely good) and sons Walt and Frank (Eisenberg and Kline, the latter the progeny of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates making a Culkinian debut with surprising chops) aka Chicken and Pickle (their mom's nicknames). The quartet is harmonious in literary pursuits and drastic life changes when the parents agree on separating sending the boys (and ultimately themselves) into an emotional tailspin.

Bernard, a very sardonic critical yet loving man, is taking it very internally despite his sarcastic remarks about everything to his sons as a sounding board in his attempt to keep his boys together by a joint custody agreement with Joan by taking a fixer-upper brownstone across the park while he deals with the likelihood that his new book will never be published.

Joan's affairs are discovered shockingly by the boys - Walt the more avuncularly bitter lashing out and blaming her for not giving the marriage a chance reasoning that dad's lack of success has made her seek another shot a life of empty sex yet promise in her undiscovered writing talents (much to the resentment of Bernard); meanwhile budding tennis pro wannabe Frank, the youngest, begins to experiment with alcohol and masturbation.

Added to the mix is Lili (Paquin), a female writing student of Bernard's, who has a hidden agenda when Bernard invites her to share his new home as a roommate while the boys visit every other day with mixed results. Walt is attempting to begin a sexual awakening as well with his first girlfriend but is getting all the wrong comic advice from Bernard who is clueless with the opposite sex as he is also trying to have sex with Lili while burning over Joan who has hooked up with Frank's tennis instructor Ivan (a doofy Baldwin whose every other utterance is "Brother").

Achingly funny, sharply witty and skewering with some pricelessly amusing moments including the running gag of Bernard driving his kids around the neighborhood ("my space is missing!" an apt metaphor for his listless situation) and subtle touches (Bernard reading Saul Bellow's THE VICTIM and the new home decorated with posters of films like PSYCHO and THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE and using the instrumental theme of Tangerine Dream's score to "Risky Business" during Frank's sexual awakenings!) ) bring a smile if not a burst of laughter in the unease of a family's reluctant transition that will scar them forever.

Baumbach is clearly making a heartfelt valentine to his own upbringing when his parents eventually divorced during his trying teens and the affects that have rubbed off are bittersweet and universally humorous. He has a keen touch with his actors – especially Daniels, the centerpiece character, who is brilliantly funny, touching and head-shaking misanthropic at the absurdity of his situation (at one point he says glibly with a touch of melancholy, "that's my home which I used to live in…as you may know", to his son during one of their jaunts back and forth) that has echoes of his first fine role as Flap, the philandering English professor husband of the doomed Debra Winger in "Terms of Endearment", suggesting a bookend to what Flap may have become ultimately (and I'm damned if I'm not right at one point Walt is looking at his father's novel's backflap and the photo suggests a still from that film!). Bernard genuinely cares for his family but does things in such an ass-backward (and frugal) way that it is borderline heartbreaking especially his confounded loss of his status (both professionally and familially) that at one point I welled up with tears as he caressed a shelve of books while dropping Frank off with his mom. Daniels has always been one of my all-time faves and a severely underrated (and underestimated actor) it's be criminal if he didn't get an Academy Award nomination.

There are some very funny moments throughout with the brothers particularly Frank's stream of profanities in frustration at the tennis lessons (no doubt from his competitive father in several sequences) and Walt's stone-cold declaration that the musical piece he will be performing, Pink Floyd's "Hey You", was written by him as an original work!

Baumbach has crafted some fine work over the years (the aforementioned masterpiece of "Kicking & Screaming" about recent college grad buds deliberately not accepting their new status in the 'real world' by refusing to adapt and his recent collaboration with executive producer and fellow auteur Wes Anderson on last year's equally sublimely funny/sad "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou") and his latest, a blend of Salinger and Updike suggests a novella come to life and one of the year's finest comedic dramas.

infidelity /adultery Destroys lives / relationships

[afterdarkpak · 7/10 · 13 January 2021]

"infidelity / divorce" ruins many lives / relationship. its really good movie and even its 2005 movie , it represent ALOT reality now in 2020. movie has some really solid performance by jeff, jessie and laura. only i wished that there would be some logical satisfying ending.

A man try everything to save a stupid broken marriage but WOMAN /wife dont want it.

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the movie didnt justify that cheating / infidelity is EVIL or bad. in near end of the movie, wife / mother told son , she had numerous affairs, even before marriage . here the movie didnt focus this point. that she is enjoying her OWN life without concerning how it gonna ruin other lives?. this is really sick.

Boring, predictable, and just crass.

[kathleen-pangan · 1/10 · 10 November 2007]

I just watched The Squid and the Whale. My sister recommended it to me, saying it was an indie film with a ton of awards and some famous people like Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, and William Baldwin. Having not watched an independent film in some time, and having planned on a date with my Mom for this movie, I was excited to watch it. Boy was I disappointed.

The movie is set in the 1980s in Brooklyn, and is about a divorce between two writers and how the separation affects everyone in the family, including their two boys. Everyone hurts everyone, they all cuss at each other, they're all having sex with someone inappropriate or masturbating in public. The job does a good job at making you feel uncomfortable, and maybe that's the point of the movie. Usually, though, there is a point to the movie. What's the point of this one? Divorce is hard? Well, everyone knows that. It was predictable and just boring with a crass overtone. I started cutting mosaic tiles in the middle of the movie because it was so boring and predictable. It was definitely not an enjoyable film, or even thought-provoking. It didn't even do a good job at making me feel depressed, if that was what it was supposed to do, although it did make me mad at my sister for recommending this stupid film which was a definite waste of my two hours.

Great work but I didn't care

[hankeyham · 6/10 · 1 October 2006]

I found myself really appreciating the acting and admiring the honesty of the writing to a degree. But I wound found myself not giving a damn about any of the spoiled brats or their kids, so i didn't even make it through the whole picture. I read review that talked about the humor and hilarity. Missed that completely. Maybe what I found awkward painful, pathetic and sad was something others found amusing. At the same time I can see how it might resonate strongly with others. I generally feel Jeff Daniels is underrated and his is a generous performance. The same goes for Laura Linney. I gave up on it because it didn't seem to be heading anywhere but down. Nor was I invited to appreciate much about the characters.