04/23/06 The Squid And The Whale

The Squid And The Whale (2005), directed by Noah Baumbach

watched w/ Leslie (partially); DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

Family dysfunction at its best (or is that worst?). Based on director Baumbach's true life childhood recollections, this disruptive tale of divorce tries to show the separation from all opposing angles. Each family member is given a strong personality, and reasons for the division between all is felt deeply. Jeff Daniels plays the father, a past his prime novelist who is now a professor in Brooklyn; and Laura Linney plays the mother who blossoms as an up-and-coming writer herself who has become disenchanted with her married life. The two boys are played by elder Jesse Eisenberg (from "Roger Dodger") and younger Owen Kline (son of Kevin, and Phoebe Cates) with great awkwardness and heart. The parental units are not the most stable of people, nor do they set the best example when both choose to show their anger for each other in front of the children. Extra-marital affairs, profanity, drinking habits, lies, sexual perversions, and overall relationship oddities abound. The mother ends up in a relationship with the younger sons' tennis coach, while the father begins an affair with one of his students (who the older son is also engrossed with). The kids aren't much better off, as one mixes up his teenage hormones with love and honesty to chaotic results, while the other struggles in pre-pubescent sexual questioning. The boys live an all too adult world, and it is hard to distinguish what is right & wrong. It becomes quite uncomfortable at times, but it it speaks to an honesty with such family break-ups that don't always go over very smoothly. It's hard enough growing up & trying to figure things out for yourself, when the parents are doing the same thing. Look for a greasy Billy Baldwin as a hippie (aka Philistine) tennis pro. Has he really done anything since "Sliver?" Ok, "Curdled," but nothing mainstream.

3 out of 5 stars