THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
/
2005
DIRECTOR: NOAH BAUMBACH
CINEMATOGRAPHER: ROBERT D. YEOMAN
WRITER: NOAH BAUMBACH
BUDGET: $1,500,00
GROSS: $11,098,131 (worldwide)
The Squid And The Whale is about a family breaking up in Brooklyn, New York in 1986 - and right when the film begins we see what side everyone is going to be on: The opening scene is of the family playing tennis with the dad and the older son on one side of the net and the mother on the other side with the younger boy. These are the two teams and this divide is just made more evident when the parents split up and the kids are forced to split their time between them.
The Squid And The Whale is a simple family drama, and yet it had me on the edge of my seat as if I was watching an action movie. The script was right there in my face and I found myself just completely enthralled by what everyone was saying and how they were saying it (almost as much as when I watch Glengarry Glen Ross, which, for me, is still the epitome of mouth agape viewing).
All the performances are great, but Jeff Daniels is just brilliant as the father. He is an educated, pretentious professor/used-to-be-famous writer and the scenes with him and his eldest son are gold. He is completely open with his son as if he was one of his adult friends (which we don't see any of, if he has any) and his son, a younger version of himself idolizes him and thinks that he can do no wrong (at least in the beginning). Watching their relationship within the context of what is happening to the family is almost perfect.
Although, I often find that many shorter films feel as if they were prematurely cut and that content that would have made them better was probably left on the cutting room floor, with The Squid And The Whale that is not the case at all. The film is not even 90 minutes long but it is complete, full and developed.
I don't want to tell you the story (cause that is why we watch the movies), but what is more important is the power of the script in creating something so engaging and dramatic and funny with such a simple premise.
I shouldn't be surprised by that though. Since Noah Baumbach seems to do exactly that with almost every film he makes. From his first film, the under-appreciated and under-seen Kicking And Screaming to the Oscar-Nominated - Marriage Story. All that to say, if you haven't yet had the pleasure of The Squid And The Whale, don't wait any longer.