Review of The Squid and the Whale (2005) by Steve — 25 Mar 2008

I couldn't say it any better than D.A. Floyd, but I'd add the charge that the director depicted sex, both in language (cunts?) and action (12-year-old masturbation, girl-friend giving a handjob to boyfriend?) than was necessary.

Is this child of the 60s turning into a prude in his old age? Don't think so. Just keep on asking why sex keeps on getting so much more emphasis than the story needs. As for example: in Babel, the Mexican nanny being groped at her son's wedding; in Nowhere in Africa, the husband and wife making love, both totally nude.

How does either contribute to the story? In contrast, and to show how sex and passion can be better portrayed, see The Illusionist. What's my point, finally, if not already clear? That what makes movies like Squid-Whale gripping is the voyeurism that titillates us.

Without it, just another (yes, well acted) flick.