The Squid and the Whale
2005 Directed by Noah Baumbach
Synopsis
Joint custody blows.
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 1980's.
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I didn't have really high expectations going in, but holy fuck...
this is one of the worst films I've seen in my life.Just everything about it is awful. Like it tries at every turn to be as pretentious and irritating as can be and it succeeds in ways I never even imagined. The only upside to this wankfest is two fantastic performances from Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney but the problem is they play such pretentious fucking assholes (I'll get to that in a moment). Jesse Eisenberg is bad, but he's not terrible. I can sorta forgive him just because he was still green at the time (I think this was his 2nd or 3rd film) and he's proven…
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Loved this!
Sure, Eisenberg is rather annoying as his character ends up looking like a douchebag hipster in his failed attempt at mimicking his father, and the kid is probably a bit much, but overall it's very realistic, sad and entertaining.
Jeff Daniels is terrific, but we probably should have seen more of Linney. -
Noah Baumbach managed to make a better Wes Anderson movie than Wes Anderson.
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what a bunch of cunts
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Lesser Baumbach, not the "fillet" he later makes with Greenberg. With each viewing I tend to get more and more accepting of this film, and yes I tend to rank Baumbach films in reverse of what consensus deems right. It is a great film, and the dialogue is mighty impressive the way it has a confessional quality to it but also captures some verite rhythm (Laura Linney's character bursting into laughter several lines of dialogue after the fact, giggling on the word "burgers"). My issue is that I feel, more so than any of Baumbach's films, the writer is bullying the characters and posing a relentlessly unflattering light without any opportunity for them to rise above. It is like he…
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For a depiction of a rather messy divorce this movie is quite understated, but maybe that’s what messy divorces really are if you’re a kid – not someone suddenly pulling a rug from under you, but rather wielding a pen and an eraser and occasionally, while you’re not looking, redrawing your fragile model of how the world works.
Just like real life, The squid and the whale shies from conventions, easy answers to hard questions, and closure. All the characters feel real, some of the dialogue is superb, and the manufactured drama largely absent.
I realized I can’t make up my mind about this movie, but perhaps that’s intentional too. It didn’t make me sad or happy, but rather just interested and, I don’t know, concerned…? But as the credits started rolling, I caught myself thinking I wish I knew what happened to all those people since 1986. And that’s not something that happens very often.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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A nice little "dramedy" that I could tell Wes Anderson had worked on even before I looked it up (quirkiness inbound). All jokes aside, this is a great movie that really looks into family relationships that have been torn apart due to divorce and how it effects not only the children involved, but the parents as well. It's simply great, and at only 80 minutes in length, it's a movie that everyone should watch.
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Carefully observed tale of divorce in 80s Bklyn. Contains some incisive dark humor and touching moments, but still minor Baumbach in comparison to more recent works like Greenberg. Jk. Could withstand the impulse to review it like Bernard. Great flick.
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an american à nos amours
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While slightly improving on his art of storytelling, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE lacks a bit of the intelligence and tact that KICKING AND SCREAMING featured, which disappointed me some. Overall, a decent effort for Baumbach.
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BRILLANTE.
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Hey youuuu, out there in the cold..
Getting lonely, getting old, can you feel me -
Everyone might be likeable but it didn't matter. I thought the story was great and the performances good. Also, Jeff Daniels always does awesome beards.
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good