The Squid and the Whale Movie Review

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

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Written by: Noah Baumbach
Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline, William Baldwin, Anna Paquin, Ken Leung, Alexandra Daddario
Rated: R
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Plot
Follows two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

Verdict
It's a very good movie. Like a lot of Baumbach's films, it feels like this is more documentary than fiction. You know people like this, and we watch the children deal with the trauma and feebly try to cope. What makes it so engaging is also the reason I'm not sure I'd watch this a second time. It's tragic and heartbreaking. Bernard is such a rich character and you can read paragraphs between the lines in the script but you don't like him. His failures are someone else's fault. He takes out his frustrations on everyone else, brainwashing his son to see the world in the same way.
Watch It.

Review
Baumbach often does character studies, most recently The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story.

This gets into the characters quickly. Bernard (Jeff Daniels) is an overbearing and self absorbed father. He's convinced his son Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) to see the world as he does. Bernard is a great writer despite coasting on a book he wrote years ago. It's the world's fault for not seeing his talent and publishing his next book. Walt's mom Joan (Laura Linney) has started to write, but Bernard and Walt see her as inferior, writing only due to Bernard's inspiration.

Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Daniels play Walt, Bernard

Bernard's ego is massive. He even has to correct a tennis pro. When chided, he challenges the pro to prove his superiority. Bernard overcompensates for his insecurities. That's why everything is a slight that must be challenged to preserve his self-image. He's a real piece of work. We can see the telltale signs of a rocky marriage. Walt blames his mom, but that's not a surprise. Walt has clung to his dad's point of view from the beginning. It's influenced how he thinks, what he likes, and his attitude.

Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline, Laura Linney, Jeff Daniels play Walt, Frank, Joan, Bernard

Due to their parents separating, Walt and his brother Frank (Owen Kline) act out. Walt lies to get recognition. Frank acts out crudely, and it just gets worse. He becomes a terror. Bernard is the root of all of this. He's matter of fact with his kids, treating them like adult friends. It's his method to win them over. You don't like him, but you know people like him. Bernard is having a mid-life crisis. He got published and saw a certain life ahead of him, but he ends up a college professor that can't get another book published. He's upset with life and how it didn't work out. All he has now is ego, and his belief that everyone is dull and stupid compared to him. He takes it out on his family. He's jealous his wife is having success. In his mind, no one can be as smart as he is. I'd guess Bernard started micromanaging everyone else to feel a sense of control. That alienated his wife who wanted support and got nothing.

Towards the end, Bernard is chasing the family cat and states, "I had him." He says that as the cat scurries away. He never had a grip on the cat, and that's fitting. That describes his belief and the reality of the handle he had on his kids, marriage, and life. This is a tough watch that's a little too real. It deals with the trauma all these characters face. The children have it worst, their worlds upended and not knowing how to cope. They don't have the wisdom to know the best path. They lash out or emulate their dad. Their example of how to handle problems set a poor example, but it's all they have.