Review of The Squid and the Whale (2005) by Eric F — 04 Mar 2009

I first saw "The Squid and the Whale" a few years ago, and although I liked it I wasn't left with much of an impression. Now, revisiting it, i'm stunned that I didn't react more positively. The film, as a family drama, is never manipulative, nor are the characters simplified into archetypes. They're real, flawed people. And as much as it works as a drama, it works tenfold as a comedy. Some of the biggest laughs that I can remember in quite some time are all within the mere 80 minutes of the film. And for every laugh there's a moment of clarity, or one of those little touches that make you smile because the screenwriter just "gets it". "The Squid and the Whale" is a very minor glimpse into the stereotypical dysfunctional family, but it's perhaps one of the most refreshing and memorable films in it's genre to come out in the past few years.

"The Squid and the Whale", Noah Baumbach's third film, takes place in 1986 Brooklyn. Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) and Joan Berkman (Laura Linney) are undergoing a divorce, and their two sons, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline), are left to pick sides. From the brilliant opening sequence of a tennis match, the battle lines are clear - Walt admires his self-obsessed father, whereas Frank is more comfortable with his mother.

Much of the film is spent following the 16-year-old Walt, who underplays his own brilliance by repeating everything his father says. He writes one of the best papers on "The Great Gatsby" in class, however it's unclear that he ever read the book for himself. Walt knows it's a great book because his father said it's Fitzgerald's masterpiece. "A Tale of Two Cities", on the other hand, is simply minor Dickens. My favorite line was when he referred to "The Metamorphosis" as Kafkaesque.

But the star of "The Squid and the Whale" is undoubtedly Jeff Daniels' portrayal of Bernard. Everyone will see a little bit of their father in him - from the competitive drive to the incessant swearing at any mild inconvenience. And, as a characterization of a complete fine arts snobs, he's utterly convincing. The film's major laughs all revolve around that: for instance, when Walt invites his father to see "Short Circuit" with him and his girlfriend, Bernard says that it's a better idea to see "Blue Velvet". However, although Bernard's character is larger-than-life, there's little moments that make him a realized human being. One of the favorite scenes is Frank's displeasure with his father's new house - as brilliant as Bernard is when discussing the fine arts, he doesn't have the sense to buy his son a right hand desk rather than a left.

"The Squid and the Whale" is a small treasure that works wonderfully as both a comedy and as a family drama. It's definitely worth a watch - or, in my case, several. I found much more to it on the second viewing.