The Squid and the Whale

Almost a perfect movie. Everyone needs to see this one.Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney are both extraordinary. Factor in the performances of Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline and this may be the most well-acted movie I've seen in a couple... Read more at imdb.com

A friend of mine was hesitant to see this movie, because she'd heard that it pushes the agenda that divorce is never a good option for dealing with marital problems. I don't really know who told her this, and I... Read more at imdb.com

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/Director (and Wes Anderson collaborator) Noah Baumbach presents a semi-autobiographical therapy session where he unleashes the anguish and turmoil that has carried over from his childhood. The result is an amazing insight into what many... Read more at imdb.com

Noah Baumbach's semi-autobiographical tale of divorce in the mid-1980's in Brooklyn is funny and touching and ranks right up there with the best work of Woody Allen or Sophia Coppola as superb bourgeois cinema where we are treated to the... Read more at imdb.com

More acutely than I've experienced in a long time, this film captures the process of personality inheritance within families. The interaction/influence between Bernard and Walt is almost painful to watch at times, but it's completely rich. Beyond just that father/son... Read more at imdb.com

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005) **** Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jessie Eisenberg, Owen Kline, Anna Paquin, William Baldwin. Literary autobiography with heartfelt humor.Filmmaker Noah Baumbach is back in fine form since his debut with the excellent "Kicking and Screaming"... Read more at imdb.com

Noah Baumbach, the immensely talented writer, and director of "The Squid and the Whale" clearly demonstrates he is one of the brightest young directors working in America today. Having admired his previous films, we were looking forward to this new... Read more at imdb.com

What about the freaking cat?? It's the only character in the whole damn movie I cared about. Oh, and Sophie--I hope she ran far and fast.It's bizarre that so many people and journalists raved about this. It's emotionally unsophisticated and... Read more at imdb.com

Noah Baumbach takes a loving (oh?) stab at his parents' divorce, brought on by the hilariously immature antics of his father, and my writing professor, the ever pompous Jonathan Baumbach (Jeff Daniels).Brooklyn College was a hotbed of activism and liberal... Read more at imdb.com

It's interesting to read all of the comments and how each reviewer has found something unique that calls to them. Some reviewers have focused on the boys or the father or the mother. Different scenes have been noted, almost none... Read more at imdb.com

The Squid and the Whale" was the unprecedented winner of both the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and Director's Award at 2005's Sundance Film Festival. The Squid and the whale exhibit is a squirm-inducing metaphor for the effect Bernard and Joan have upon one another and the horrific implications their relationship has upon their offspring. ... Full Review

The Squid and the Whale is the story of writer-director Noah Baumbachs own experience dealing with his parents split, and the authenticity of the conversations and the attention to detail demonstrate this quite impressively. An inspired performance by Jeff Daniels and the now predictable excellence of Linney propel the film. ... Full Review

Linney's Joan is pragmatic, but also sympathetic. Eventually, Joan is pelted with a ball, a tense time-out is called and it's no surprise when, a few scenes later, the couple tell their children they're splitting up. ... Full Review

If this marvelous film is any indication, he is ready to take his place in their company. The Squid and the Whale' MPAA rating: R for strong sexual content, graphic dialogue and language. ... Full Review

The Squid and the Whale deserves a raft of Oscar nominations -- not least of which for its entire cast and its Salinger-esque screenplay. Joan has an affair with a tennis pro (a very funny William Baldwin), who insists on calling Frank "little brother," while Walt finds himself attracted to his father's latest swooning student (Anna Paquin). ... Full Review

I just finished watching The Squid and the Whale this afternoon and Sunshine last night, two of my favorite indie movies of the last few years. ... Full Article

Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale marked him as the reigning bard of disaffected 16-year-olds from privileged, culturally elite, miserably broken families. Not a big demographic, but the achingly precise details, the acid-etched dialogue, and a rueful canniness about... ... Full Article

How many of you saw the great indie movie from 2005 called The Squid and the Whale Jesse Eisenberg ? Besides Jeff Daniels, it starred a great young actor named The Hunting Party , who've I've been hoping to see ... Full Article

JEFF DANIELS, "The Squid and the Whale."Pitch-perfect as a vain, self-absorbed novelist. 2.DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, "The Ballad of Jack and Rose."The last angry gasp of a '60s radical. 3. ... Full Article

By Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The tennis game in "The Squid and the Whale" telegraphs everything. Bernard and Joan Berkman are playing doubles. Each is paired with one of their sons, and everyone takes the game very seriously. At home, ... Full Article