Cinema Revisited: The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Written and Directed by Noah Baumbach. Starring Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Anna Paquin, Otto Kline. Released October 5, 2005. Running time 81 minutes.
Wildly successful indie film of its time, dwelling on people we aren't supposed to like. Jeff Daniels is Bernard, a pretentious writer whose success lies behind him. He teaches writing at a University. Laura Linney is Joan, his unhappy wife who looks for attraction elsehwere. When they separate, their two very different perspectives create confusion for their two sons -- a teenager and a younger boy.
"The Squid and the Whale" is actually quite a fascinating study of complex characters who possess some positive qualities that are often obscured by the more challenging aspects of their personalities. We are not witness to Bernard's decline as a writer, we're only told he has had successful books in his past. We do not see Joan's rise, but we're told that she didn't consider writing until she met Bernard, and now she's enjoying a level of success Bernard never realized, even at his best.
The narrative attempts to further complicate the characters by having Bernard rent a room to a pretty young student (Anna Paquin) whose youthful interest in experimentation causes her to come on to her much older professor. He's ethically torn, while also being sexually aroused and complimented.
The older son performs Pink Floyd's song "Hey You" in the talent show, claiming it to be a successful composition and winning first prize, only to lose the money when the school realizes what he has done. The parents, his friends, nobody seems to realize the song was not original, other than the student played by Paquin who admits to the boy that she used to hand in Lou Reed lyrics as original poems. That's a pretty notable song, the sequence would have worked better had they chose something more obscure, even another song composed by Roger Waters.
Jeff Daniels quite brilliant plays a level of rude arrogance that is as fascinating as it is unsettling. However, the older boy emulates him and it takes a therapist to realize it. His dismissal of "philistines" like Joan's new boyfriend, a tennis instructor played by Billy Baldwin. The younger boy connects more with him than with his father.
The film is a brutally honest look at divorce, and its affects on all persons involved. From the children we see how they focus on what they want to see rather than what really has happened. It takes serious introspection for their young minds to comprehend the reality of their bringing up. It deals with both parents' insecurities, but carefully reveals the misconceptions of the sons, especially in regard to their father. Bernard is a consistently dislikable person, a phony, and it takes the film for all of us to realize the depth of how much. Noah Baumbach's screenplay was nominated for an Oscar.
"The Squid and The Whale" has a conventional narrative and a linear structure. It has well drawn characters, interesting situations, and smart dialog. But it isn't a film for everyone. There are no heroes, there are no villains. There is a group of complex people who aren't always fun to be around. But they are interesting.