The Squid and the Whale

Squid and the Whale

When you see a DVD of a movie like this, you usually ignore it and grab the next Will Ferrell movie you see. But some of us actually take the time and watch a movie like The Squid and the Whale, Noah Baumbach's third film. And when you do, you get a feeling that no one else can say they've had. Movies like Squid and the Whale boost your intelligence to the oomph degree, which a lot of filmmakers can't say they've ever done. You can tell its quality if the director also writes it as well. Baumbach did just that, similar to the way he did with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Mr. Jealousy. His directing and screenplay had to be my favorite part of this coming-of-age quirky drama. I hope to see many more works from Noah, because unlike writers Mike White and Dick Clement (School of Rock and Across the Universe), he knows how to write the perfect roles for his cast.

The Squid and the Whale is based on the true story of Noah Baumbach and his brother. It tells the story of Frank (Owen Kline, pretty disturbing) and Walt (Jesse Eisenberg, the awkward kid in Adventureland) as they struggle through the divorce of their two parents Bernard (Jeff Daniels, magnificent) and Joan (Laura Linney). It starts out pretty promising, but towards the middle, it veers of track and starts to creep you out a little. A closet-rapist father and a chronic-masturbating son made me cringe in disgust. But somewhere along the line you start to feel something. You can say how much you hated it all you want, butThe Squid and the Whale surrounds you with lost feelings of doubt and negligence that you can't escape from. When the ending of the movie hits you out of nowhere, you'll find that you were in the world of the Berkman family, not your own. Somewhere along the line, Squid and the Whale grabs you and doesn't let go until an hour and twenty minutes in, when all the drama finally ends.

Jeff Daniels, a Dave Coulier look-alike, portrayed an obviously confused divorcee father perfectly. Easily the best actor/actress in the entire film. The whole movie could've been written around him, had Baumbach wanted to. In fact, Daniels won "Best Supporting Actor" at the Chlotrudis Awards in 2006. Speaking of awards, it has won and been nominated for a lot of them. Squid and the Whale was nominated for "Best Screenplay" at the Oscars in 2006, three times at the Golden Globes, six times at the Independent Spirit Awards and was the New York Film Critics Circle Awards pick for, again, "Best Screenplay".

The Squid and the Whale takes you on a ride you really don't want to go on, but you're glad you did. Watch the directing; Noah Baumbach did that well than the screenplay, in my opinion. However, it is a bit weird. You'll fall in love with it, in exactly the wacky way the director wanted you to.

4/5 stars.

-Nick

Special Movie Review - The Squid and the Whale

The Squid and the Whale is a great movie in the vein of such dark comedies as The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums, or anything Wes Anderson has touched. And it makes sense, since Wes Anderson was producer on this film.

The movie is about a family of four, two sons and their parents, when after years of unhappiness, the parents decide to split up. The movie focuses on the repurcussions of divorce on everyone around the family, and what it does to the kids. The older boy sides with the father and the younger boy sides with the mother, each giving the kids with a biased view on life which leads to them becoming involved in situations that are too mature for them to handle.

The movie and script does a great job of showing how each of the children begin to side with one of the parents. My parents haven't been divorced, but I do know what it feels like to side with one of my parents when they have a fight. It's all too easy to support one of your parents and not the other and I think that's what got to me most.

The movie is really dark. Despite being comedic at times, mostly you're probably going to be depressed. Which is a good thing, because the subject matter isn't supposed to be all that funny. The young kid turns into a beer-swilling cum-wiping pervert, and the older boy becomes a polygamist who only wants to get laid. They both take on their parents traits to show how ugly each one of them really is.

The climax of the movie is pretty amazing, and I won't give it away, but the metaphor of the squid and the whale is lightly touched upon before the movie is ended. There's not really a resolution, and I liked that about the movie because there really couldn't be a conclusion. No one was changing, and change is what would allow everything to go back to normal. Change is what drew them apart, and it keeps them apart.

The movie is wonderfully shot, and you'll find that the intricate camera angles really aid the viewer while watching the movie. There's a lot of scenes where you might say, "What the hell?" But all in all the movie is a really entertaining, but sad, viewing that carries a heavy message.

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The Squid and The Whale

Another movie directed by Noah Baumbach. It is made in 2005, prior to Margot At The Wedding . It’s his best piece so far.

Noah Baumbach has his own style of directing. He directs a film as if he’s telling a story. I said Margot At The Wedding was way too much talkings, but in The Squid and The Whale everything is more tolerable.

Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) and his wife, Joan (Laura Linney) are novelists. The difference is while Bernard has fallen from grace, Joan is enjoying her success. That creates an intensity. Their relationship hasn’t been going well and after few rounds of arguements, they decide to split and have joint custody of their two boys, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline). Bernard moves outside Brooklyn, so the kids have to shuttle back and forth to spend equal time with their parents. The separation makes them see the bad sides of their parents, Bernard as the incapable father and Joan the unfaithful mother, and begins to take sides. While their parents try to move on, the kids are falling into deviant behaviours as they struggle to get a grip of their situations.

Although there are a lot of dialogues, it is not a bore to watch. The story is enganging and the acting is great. The movie deals with the issues of newly-divorced family in a dramatic setting. I had two feelings while watching; First, I feel sorry for the kids who are torn between. Second, I think divorce is a way out of hell for the parents, or at least Joan. So there are two perspectives given in the movies. As an audience, it’s hard to see the divorce from one perspective. Having both perspectives draws us into the characters’ conflicting emotions and feels involve to the movie.
I guess I like this movie because it doesn’t only dab the charcters’ personalities but explore deep into their lives and gives full picture of their torments.

I am particulary drawn towards two scenes of the movie where Walt dips his head in the pond at the park and at the near end of the movie where Walt runs to a place where he could find peace. Isn’t that what human likes to do when we need a getaway? It might seem silly to dip your head in a pond or run to nowhere, but sometimes you just have to do something out of the norm.

Overall, The Squid and The Whale is very dense, very interesting.

Mel says: 8.5/10