The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Follows two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

Director:

Noah Baumbach

Writer:

Noah Baumbach

Stars:

Owen Kline, Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 23 wins & 47 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Owen Kline	...	Frank Berkman
Jeff Daniels	...	Bernard Berkman
Laura Linney	...	Joan Berkman
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Walt Berkman
William Baldwin	...	Ivan
David Benger	...	Carl
Anna Paquin	...	Lili
Molly Barton	...	Graduate Student
Bo Berkman	...	Graduate Student
Matthew Kaplan	...	Graduate Student
Simon Kaplan	...	Graduate Student
Matthew Kirsch	...	Graduate Student
Daniella Markowicz	...	Graduate Student
Elizabeth Meriwether	...	Graduate Student
Ben Schrank	...	Graduate Student

Storyline

In 1986, In Brooklyn, New York, the dysfunctional family of pseudo intellectuals composed by the university professor Bernard and the prominent writer Joan split. Bernard is a selfish, cheap and jealous decadent writer that rationalizes every attitude in his family and life and does not accept "philistines" - people that do not read books or watch movies, while the unfaithful Joan is growing as a writer and has no problems with "philistines". Their sons, the teenager Walt and the boy Frank, feel the separation and take side: Walt stays with Bernard, and Frank with Joan, and both are affected with abnormal behaviors. Frank drinks booze and smears with sperm the books in the library and a locker in the dress room of his school. The messed-up and insecure Walt uses Roger Water's song "Hey You" in a festival as if it was of his own, and breaks up with his girlfriend Sophie. Meanwhile Joan has an affair with Frank's tennis teacher Ivan and Bernard with his student Lili.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | writer | tennis | tennis coach | talking to self in mirror | 

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Taglines:

Joint Custody Blows.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic dialogue and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Tintenfisch und der Wal

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$279,938 (USA) (14 October 2005)

Gross:

$7,362,100 (USA) (17 March 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Films, Sony Pictures International, Destination Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Noah Baumbach originally wanted Wes Anderson to direct but Anderson convinced Baumbach to direct it himself, due to the film being very personal to Baumbach.

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Goofs

Bernie's car has a Statue of Liberty license plate, which didn't start appearing until 1986. But his car's registration says 1986 on it, which means it was issued in 1984, so it should have the older blue-on-yellow license plate.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frank Berkman: Mom and me versus you and Dad.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits include this dedication: "For Mannie".

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Connections

References Risky Business (1983)

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Soundtracks

Holland Tunnel
Written by John Phillips (as John E.A. Phillips)
Performed by John Phillips
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Cringe after Cringe

This was billed as a comedy. It wasn't. Unless it's funny to watch miserable, irrevocably damaged people doing horrible things to each other, themselves, their children, and your own youthful idealism. For me, it was like getting poked in the eye with a pencil -- over and over. I kept standing there, expectant, hopeful, naive, thinking maybe I wouldn't get poked in the eye any more times, but inevitably it came -- the eye poke.

The movie is a long gauntlet of awkward situations, and unforgettably dreadful moments. There is no forgiveness, no redemption, no hope -- there is only wound heaped upon scar, from parent to child and back again, and from spouse to spouse -- kind of like the tennis that is a motif in the film. If you feel the need to cringe, here is your opportunity. I don't think my shoulders relaxed once throughout the movie, although their were many times when I stopped cringing with horror in order to clutch my mouth and say, "He did NOT just do/say that." I am not a person who needs things to be all joyful or demands the happy ending. I have never said, nor will I ever say, "Can't we all just get along?" However, tomorrow is my ninth wedding anniversary, and this movie makes marriage, parenthood, or really any relationship at all with another person just seem like a toxic prison, from which there is no escape but nihilism. NEAT! Happy anniversary to me!! For what it's worth, I also predicted everything that happened in the film as we went through it, including the development of the motif in the title. It was predictable in the wide view, but as for the many little barbs and spears that are thrown along the way -- unless you're as bloodless and depraved as the characters in the movie, you'll never see them coming.

I think, as a side note, this is the best acting Jeff Daniels has ever done. Pity it's in such a bamboo-shoots-under-the-fingernails of a movie.