Review of The Squid and the Whale (2005) by Melvin W — 07 Dec 2011

Walt Berkman: It's like... we were pals then... we'd do things together... we'd look at the knight armor at the Met. The scary fish at the Natural History Museum. I was always afraid of the squid and whale fighting. I can only look at it with my hands in front of my face. .

"Joint Custody Blows.".

The Squid and the Whale is one of the most honest looks at a divorce torn family that I have ever seen. No unnecessary melodrama is added to the situation. Everything that occurs because of the divorce is realistic and understandable. The film is funny and sad in the way it approaches the story.

The movie opens on a family of four playing tennis together. Competitive sports always bring out the worst in people, especially when they are already mad. We can see after the first tennis match scene, that the husband/wife relationship isn't on the best of terms. The two end up separating and deciding on a joint custody where their two kids change houses practically every night, but like in most separations, each kid picks the one he likes and tries to only be with that parent. .

I loved this movie, but genuinely hated all four of the characters. The father, a writer, was a pretentious and egotistical dick. The mother seemed like the best of the two, but still had cheated on her husband. That isn't exactly why I hate her though because you can't really blame her. The biggest reason I hate both of them is because their messed up relationship screwed their kids up. The oldest of the brothers is like his father. He is also a pretentious and egotistical dick. The youngest tries to be the opposite of his father and is severely messed up. He does some weird shit, like masturbating in public places.

The whole cast really brings their A-game. Jeff Daniels performance is the best I have ever seen from him. Jesse Eisenberg gives an equally solid early performance that kid of showed what was to come with The Social Network. Laura Linney also gives an extremely realistic performance, which ended up being my favorite performance I have seen from her. .

I thought this movie was just about as perfect as these divorce/family dramas go. It's up at the level of Kramer vs. Kramer, and that is really saying something. The Squid and the Whale is a must see.