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The Squid and the Whale
2005 81 min United States of America R 16+
★7.8
Comedy, Drama
Director: Noah Baumbach
Trailers
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Description
Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
Budget:
$1.5M
US Gross:
$7.37M
Worldwide:
$11.1M
Starring
Owen Kline
Actor
Jeff Daniels
Actor
Laura Linney
Actor
Awards
Sundance Film Festival 2005
— Directing Award (Drama)
Sundance Film Festival 2005
— Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
Academy Awards 2006
— Best Screenplay
Sundance Film Festival 2005
— Grand Jury Prize (Drama)
Golden Globe 2006
— Best Picture (Comedy or Musical)
Sundance Film Festival 2005
— Directing Award (Drama)
Sundance Film Festival 2005
— Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
Key opinion
Noah Baumbach’s semi-autobiographical drama provides an unflinching, intellectually charged look at the collapse of a Brooklyn family. While widely praised for its authentic performances and bold script, the film's polarizing tone and introspective, non-sentimental style leave some viewers feeling alienated.
| Acting | Jeff Daniels delivers a standout, layered performance as the ego-centric, flawed patriarch. | |
| Screenplay | The script offers an honest, psychologically astute portrayal of how parental divorce manifests as trauma in children. | |
| Humor | The film utilizes a specific, ironic, and intellectual sense of humor that is characteristic of the Wes Anderson-adjacent aesthetic. | |
| Cinematography | Opinions on the cinematography vary, with some finding it an appropriately intimate arthouse aesthetic and others criticizing it as clumsy or visually uninspired. | |
| Accessibility | The film's appeal is limited, as its focus on self-reflective, neurotic intellectual characters resonates deeply with some audiences while leaving others feeling bored or detached. |