I don't love Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels being romantically involved after being daughter and father in Fly Away Home. Also I never thought Jesse Eisenberg could look too old for a role, but bro is not passing for a teen with that hair.
Aside from those complaints, I am pretty mixed on The Squid and the Whale as a whole. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney are believable and flawed and sad and lonely, and they execute it so well. For every scene they knock out of the park, there's a scene with the younger son that's totally bonkers and ruins the momentum. I hear this is semi-autobiographical, so I guess who am I to call it bonkers when it might have happened, but it feels bonkers to me.
The Squid and the Whale
Joint custody blows.
Rating
3.5 (1)
Release Date
10/5/2005Runtime
81 minsOverview
Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
Status
ReleasedOriginal Language
EnglishBudget
$1,500,000Revenue
$11,100,000Homepage
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How It Feels
Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.
A wryly observed portrait of two brothers navigating their parents' divorce in 1980s Brooklyn, finding dark humor and unexpected depth in the small humiliations and betrayals of family life.
Mood
BittersweetMelancholicWistfulAbsurd
Themes
FamilyComing of ageIdentityGrief
Pacing
Slow-burn
Look
NaturalisticHandheld
Structure
Linear
Reviews
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