Review of The Squid and the Whale (2005) by Daniel P — 26 Aug 2013

Overall, I liked Noah Baumbach's more-or-less autobiographical divorce story - even though virtually no characters are likeable, and most of them get no closure. The parents are terrible people, the kids have each absorbed the parents' worst traits, and the central metaphor (of a squid and a whale fighting) doesn't show up until the movie's three-quarters over.

But on the other hand, this film didn't depress me half as much as I expected it would, and the acting was fantastic. And even though I watched my own parents divorce, I maintained some detachment from this story; it should have shattered me, but having had a similar experience actually left me a little underwhelmed with the the movie.

.. and I think it comes down to characters that I just couldn't identify with. Are they realistic, or are they grotesques? Either way, it's a film that will make you think, even if (at 82 minutes long!) it comes up a little short in both runtime and story.

A great one for Wes Anderson fans, but otherwise average. I'm truly of two minds about it.