The Squid and the Whale

[whitenavel]

Nice little movie from Noah Baumbach.
Funny and moving with some great acting from Jeff Daniels. He was superb.

A film about divorce that's very comical and poignant and is obviously semi-autobiographical.

Check it out.

[kintnerboy]

I haven't had a chance to see this yet, but they won me over with the trailer. Taking credit for writing a Pink Floyd song is something I would have done.

[whitenavel]

Any fans of Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming will enjoy this too.

[cluckyburger]

it's great. small and tight and concise and, I think, all handheld. great ending.

[Jake Schuster]

Great little film, with superb acting. It's more than half-autobiographical, by the way. This is Noah Baumbach's life, in the raw.

[Architeuthis Dux]

I just looked this up on IMDB and am terribly disappointed to find out it's not actually about a squid or a whale. This, I think, is sad, because the average movie goer is so seldom shown anything of the dramatic, touching, action-packed tableau that is life below the oxygen-minimum layer, where it truly can be said that the pressure never lets up.

[Jake Schuster]

Actually, a squid and a whale make cameo appearances. You won't be disappointed.

[Hairy Lime]

Finally caught this tonight and I came away disappointed. Not that it's a bad film, but I felt as though Baumbach was touching on a subject so raw that he couldn't delve into it completely. Rather than taking us to the next level and making us feel everything he felt at that time, he went for the joke, the quirk, the laugh. It's as if he spent 90 minutes pulling punches. Kramer v Kramer and even Door in the Floor are much more visceral explorations of the effects of separation/divorce on a child. Having been there, done that, I know I felt my old psychic wounds flare up much more during those films than I did during this one. All in all this felt like yet another indie that lacked narrative focus. I'd expect more from someone with several features under his belt, but I guess when the subject is that personal, it's difficult to be objective.

[elephant1978]

I haven't had a chance to see this yet, but they won me over with the trailer. Taking credit for writing a Pink Floyd song is something I would have done.

My company made the trailer, so that's a nice compliment. I, myself, had little to do with this particular trailer and finally just saw the movie today. It has its moments. I don't think it quite deserves all of the accolades. But the performances were pretty damn good, especially Jeff Daniels. It's a nice, quick watch.

Ele...

[Jake Schuster]

I disagree with Hairy. I thought the film was highly focused: the story of a war, with sides being taken and everyone coming out a loser. The script was full of wonderfully subtle signals, and the body language was priceless.

And the use of the exhibit at the Museum of Natural History (which I remember first seeing, well, some years ago) capped it off very nicely.

[Hairy Lime]

We're all allowed to be wrong sometimes, Jake.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I was underwhelmed with the film. I loved the acting, but was not impressed with script or direction. Felt like it could have used a couple more rewrites with more real, less clever.

An interview with Baumbach in the latest Filmmaker Magazine further confirmed my belief that he was unable to obtain an objective perspective for this very personal project.

I agree about the Natural History scene. I was there last week and it was fun to watch the different reactions of the children as they approached that dark corner of the exhibit. The very young children only saw the large eye of the squid - they were unable to process the overall image, because they were unfamiliar with squids or whales. They said, "Wow, a big eye!" Older children would approach the display, recognize what it was and either be fascinated or terrified. Probably more shrieks than wows. It was definitely a startling image for the children and I can see why Baumbach chose that for his film.

[Jake Schuster]

I didn't say you were wrong, Hairy; just that I didn't agree with you this time (as I almost always share at least some of your opinions on scripts and films). I've heard a few interviews with Baumbach and felt that he'd genuinely had a grasp on material that was obviously a large wedge of his life. His mother was film critic for the Village Voice, and his father was a published writer, and I can attest, having a grown daughter who confirmed it, that there was something painfully genuine about this film.

Just my opinion, Limey. That's all. ;)

[elephant1978]

Felt like it could have used a couple more rewrites with more real, less clever.



I had the opposite reaction. It felt too real and too obvious to me at times. Yes, as Jake said, this is a war with no real winner. But at times that felt too simple to me.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it quite a bit. But I can't label this the best of the year. It's up there though.

Ele...