- I love the crap out of “The Squid and the Whale”
Every now and then a film comes out that provides you with total catharsis. For me, “The Squid and the Whale” was the first film to do so. Back in 2005, Noah Baumbach directed and wrote this gem of a movie about a family handling a divorce in New York in the 1980s. At the start of the film, Bernard (Jeff Daniels), an arrogant, now-failing novelist divorces Joan (Laura Linney), whose own publications are becoming critical successes. Joan’s success and Bernard’s lack-thereof proves to be the final straw for the struggling couple. Their kids are at the heart of this story, though. Based on Baumbach’s own childhood experiences, “The Squid and the Whale” is markedly human, funny and depressing. 16-year-old Walt (a then unknown Jesse Eisenberg) and 12-year-old Frank (Owen Kline) handle the divorce in very different, albeit believable ways. Walt finds solace in his dad’s student, Lili (Anna Paquin), who starts living with Bernard shortly after his divorce. Frank finds solace in his mother’s boyfriend, Ivan (Alec Baldwin), who, whaddya know, starts living with Joan shortly after her divorce.
The rest of the film plays out as Walt and Frank’s yearning for the parent’s approval and attention. A particularly funny moments comes when Walt pretends to have written the song “Hey You” by Pink Floyd, only to have his parents later find out that he did not in fact write the song. Walt continues to fabricate achievements in an effort to gain his parent’s love, while internally struggling with the family’s crumbled foundation. Frank, on the other hand, finds himself in a stickier situation. He, uh, can’t help but start “relieving” himself at school. Everywhere. All the time. Oh, and the 12-year-old finds himself sneaking beer out of the fridge.
It is decided that Walt should start seeing the school therapist after his lies become more and more apparent, and it is during these meetings that he discovers his distaste for his father. Realizing that he is constantly fishing for his approval, Walt now understands that his father was largely absent from his childhood while his mother was the one who took care of him. Walt realizes his fondest memory was when his mom would take him to see the squid and the whale exhibit Museum of Natural History in New York.
In the end, while in the middle of a fight over custody, Bernard collapses in the street in a very telling scene. Bernard loses his anger, and shares a sweet memory of Goddard’s “Breathless” with his ex-wife. While being rushed to the hospital, Bernard asks Walt to stay by his side, but Walt instead runs to the museum to see his favorite exhibit from childhood. The film closes on this note, while Walt deliberates he past and his present.
The first time I saw this movie, it was like a switch was turned on in my brain. I all of the sudden seemed to understand what separated a good film from a mediocre one. It is with great sadness, though, that I am always comparing movies to this one, because, I don’t feel like I will ever have that same heart-pulling cathartic experience I had after watching “The Squid and the Whale” ever again. That’s fine by me, though, because I will hold on to that moment for the rest of my life. I love “The Squid and the Whale.”
You need to watch this film. You can find it on Netflix, any video rental store, and Amazon.
Grade: A+
Ryan at the Movies 