Review of The Squid and the Whale (2005) by Amakiri B — 08 Jul 2009

An earnest and well-acted family drama (silly to call this a comedy, really), with a witty and heartfelt script. But really, it offers little in terms of filmmaking - no style and not much real substance either - and repeats the same points over and over again, not quite making for a complete and coherent film.

Jeff Daniels is indeed fantastic, but it doesn't change the fact that his character is very flat, a teenager's simple perception of his own father. It's true that Baumbach is a Wes Anderson collaborator, but I didn't feel any of that Anderson magic here.