The Squid and the Whale Review
By David Kempler
Ink and Blubber Is a Perfect Recipe
It is so very rare that a movie comes into the theater that rings totally realistic. "The Squid and the Whale" is one of those films. Perfect dialogue. Terrific acting by all concerned. Great directing. Why can't there be more like this?
It's a relatively simple story on paper. The Berkman family is thrown into the fire of a separation of father from mother. How will it affect them? How will it affect their two children? Nothing that hasn't been done a thousand times before. Yet, with "The Squid and the Whale" it all plays out like a family you may have seen experience just this. The film is written and directed by Noah Baumbach who does a great job in the director's chair but an even better one as the screenwriter. It is without question the best written work that I've seen hit the screen in 2005.
It all takes place in Brooklyn in the 1980's and early on we find out that the Berkmans, Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and Joan (Laura Linney), are heading down the road to divorce. Their boys Frank (Owen Kline) and Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) are caught in the middle like so many kids are. Bernard is a pompous ass who has a far higher opinion of himself than is deserved. Joan has long ago drifted away from him but can no longer deal with it so she initiates the separation. Bernard moves into another place a few miles away and everything has to get divided up, even down to the cat. No they don't cut him in half, but he moves from house to house on alternating days.
One of the best things about "The Squid and the Whale" is that the reactions to the situation by all concerned are so very believable. Strange in some cases, but believable. Even through the strangeness there is some growth and insight by the characters but it is not thrown in our face like we are morons who can't figure it out. As terrific as Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney are, it's the kids that the movie twirls around. These aren't your typical horribly precocious children that always inhabit television sitcoms. They are normal (for the most part) boys caught in a world they don't quite understand.
This movie might not be thought to be for children of all ages because of its strong sexual content but it will do far less damage than the usual fare tossed at children. See "The Squid and the Whale" and you'll see a first class production on all counts and see writing that is transformed into visual poetry.
