The Squid and the Whale (Special Edition) | 
| Director: Noah Baumbach
Actors: Owen Kline, Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, William Baldwin
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy New: $2.30
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Rating:  146 reviews
Sales Rank: 8517
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Portuguese (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D13494D
UPC: 043396134942
EAN: 0043396134942
ASIN: B000CS464G
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
Release Date: March 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The Squid and the Whale follows the divorce of Joan (Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me) and Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose of Cairo) as it wreaks havoc on the emotional lives of their two sons, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg, Roger Dodger) and Frank (Owen Kline, The Anniversary Party). Though there's no plot in the usual sense, the movie progresses with growing emotional force from the separation into the bitter fighting between Joan and Bernard and the hapless, floundering behavior of Walt and Frank, who act out through plagiarism, sexual acts, and drinking. Some viewers may find the ending too diffuse; others will appreciate that writer/director Noah Baumbach (Mr. Jealousy) doesn't wrap up the messiness of life in a false cinematic package. Either way, viewers will appreciate how the specificity of the personalities makes The Squid and the Whale so compelling, as Baumbach has drawn the characters with such detail, both engaging and off-putting, that they leap off the screen. Naturally, he's greatly helped by the cast: Linney, Eisenberg, Kline, and especially Daniels bite into these often unsympathetic portraits and give fearlessly honest performances, interlocked in both painful and funny ways--rarely have family dynamics been captured so vividly. If there was an ensemble Oscar, this cast would deserve it. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
WHEN THEIR PARENTS ANNOUNCE THAT THEY ARE SPLITTING UP, 16 YEAR OLD WALT & 12 YEAR OLD FRANK ARE RELEGATED TO ALTERNATING WEEKENDS & A JUMBLED CALENDAR OF MOM OR DAD NIGHTS. THE KIDS ARE LEFT TO GRAPPLE WITH THE CONFUSING & CONFLICTED FEELINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE SUDDEN COLLAPSE OF THEIR PARENTS' MARRIAGE.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 141 more reviews...
 I don't know, I haven't seen it yet. I've seen stills June 28, 2009
C. CRADDOCK (Bakersfield)
From the first line when Frank Berkman (Owen Kline) says "Mom and me versus you and Dad," we know what this film is about. Though it's only a tennis match, it's more than that. The parents will split, the two brothers will take sides, and the parents will use them both as proxies, or better yet, as pawns in their battle, with joint custody providing the pretext. As the tagline clearly states: "Joint Custody Blows."
Walter Berkman (Jesse Eisenberg) takes his father's side, especially when he learns that it was mom who had an affair. But maybe he should have taken a closer look at just who his father is before taking on so much of his attitudes and world view. His father, Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels), is a literature professor who thinks he is smarter than the average bear. The philistines, by whom he means everybody else, do not appreciate good books and interesting films. Meanwhile, he is totally out of touch with his own and his family's true feelings, as well as unfamiliar with the oeuvre of Roger Waters and Pink Floyd. Walter would do well to form his own opinions instead of merely serving as his dad's echo chamber:
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Sophie Greenberg: Yeah. I mean, it's gross when he turns into the bug, but I love how matter of fact everything is.
Walter Berkman: Yeah, it's very Kafkaesque.
Sophie Greenberg: [She looks at him oddly. She laughs] Cause it's written by Franz Kafka.
Walter Berkman: Right. I mean, clearly.
===================
Not to say that Professor Berkman doesn't know his literature, or even that his opinion of the relative merits of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night" compared to "The Great Gatsby" is incorrect; but there is a disconnect when he tries to apply the lessons of literature to real life. He is like Mr. Jones in Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man."
You've been with the professors
And they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have
Discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of
F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read
It's well known
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Sure, he has published a novel, but it bugs him when all he is getting lately is rejection letters, while his wife Joan Berkman (Laura Linney) is getting her novel published, and they're printing excerpts in The New Yorker. And why can't he beat Ivan (William Baldwin), the tennis pro, when he is smarter, has studied the greats of tennis extensively, and Ivan is nothing but a philistine who goes around calling everyone "brother" with an Ebonics inflection?
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Frank Berkman: What's a philistine?
Bernard Berkman: It's a guy who doesn't care about books and interesting films and things.
Bernard Berkman: Your mother's brother Ned is also a philistine.
Frank Berkman: Then I'm a philistine.
Bernard Berkman: No, you're interested in books and things.
==============================
This film reminds me a lot of "Smart People" and the professor played by Dennis Quaid is a lot like Professor Bernard Berkman. Both professors are taken aback when it is another family member, not them, who gets published in The New Yorker. Still I like "The Squid and the Whale" better because "Smart People" plays more like a conventional Romantic Comedy while TSATW unfolds with the quirky cadences of real life.
Maybe you are wondering what the significance of the title is, but that question is addressed, just watch the movie. A few other questions need to be answered immediately.
Q: How ironic is it to have Jeff Daniels, who was Dumb to Jim Carrey's Dumber in "Dumb and Dumber" playing a professor who thinks he's smarter than everyone?
A: Very ironic, if you'll allow a rather more fluid definition of irony than the one given by Ethan Hawke in "Reality Bites."
Q: Do you ever confuse Jeff Daniels with Dave Coulier (pronounced Cool-yay), who played Joseph 'Joey' Gladstone in 193 episodes of "Full House" from 1987 to 1995?
A: I used to confuse them; but they are not the same guy. "You Oughta Know" that it was Coulier who was Mr. Duplicity in the song by Alanis Morissette; and they met at a celebrity hockey game.
Q: Who is Owen Kline? I keep getting him mixed up with Clive Owen. And it was hard enough keeping him and Owen Wilson straight.
A: I have the same problem; but new comer Owen Kline is the son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates. He has inherited a tremendous amount of talent from both parents. In "The Squid and the Whale" he plays the younger brother, Frank Berkman.
Q: What is up with Walter? Why is he so conflicted about his girlfriend, Sophie Greenberg (Halley Feiffer)?
A: In case you haven't noticed, she clearly resembles his mother, Joan Berkman (Laura Linney), and that clearly exacerbates his already severe Oedipus complex.
Q: When Walter Berkman is discussing Franz Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis" with Sophie Greenberg, he calls it Kafka-esque. Apart from the redundancy, that rang a bell. Where have I heard that word before?
A: In Woody Allen's 1977 film, "Annie Hall" the following exchange takes place:
Pam: Sex with you is really a Kafka-esque experience.
Alvy Singer: Oh. Thank you.
Pam: I mean that as a compliment.
Q: If Diane Keaton was Annie Hall, then who was Pam?
A: Pam was played by Shelley Duvall.
Q: Didn't Annie Hall win a ton of Oscars, very unusual for a comedy?
A: Yes, it won for best picture, best screenplay, best director, and Diane Keaton won best actress. Woody Allen was also nominated for best actor.
Q: The acting in "The Squid and the Whale" is so good, have any of these people ever won an Oscar?
A: Though Daniels no doubt deserves one for "Dumb and Dumber;" as does Baldwin for "Sliver" and "Fair Game;" and Linney has been nominated for three Oscars; only Anna Paquin has won so far, for "The Piano."
Q: Anna Paquin? Didn't she play Jeff Daniels' daughter in "Fly Away Home?" Now she is his love interest. How long ago was that?
A: "Fly Away Home" was released in 1996, and then here she is in 2005 with the whale from "The Squid and the Whale."
Q: That seems like it would make filming their scenes pretty awkward. How did they get through it?
A: Jeff Daniels has said that they tried not to think about, you know... geese.
Q: When was Anna Paquin born?
A: On the 24th of July in 1982, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Q: Did "The Squid and the Whale" win any Oscars in other categories?
A: No, but writer/director Noah Baumbach was nominated for his script, which is based on his and his brother's own experiences going through their parent's divorce.
Q: "The Squid and the Whale" is rather quirky, but also realistic. What would you say is Noah Baumbach's quirkiest work?
A: That would have to be 2004's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" which he wrote along with the film's director, Wes Anderson.
Q: Wasn't Owen Kline in that one? Or was it Clive Owen?
A: No, it was Owen Wilson.
Q: Are you sure?
A: Positive. Owen Wilson is a frequent collaborator with Wes Anderson, as is Noah Baumbach, but for some reason only Owen Kline was in this one.
Q: You are so smart. Are you sure you aren't a philistine?
A: Positive.
Q: How do you know so much?
A: I use Internet Movie Database (IMDB dot com) and the online collaborative encyclopedia, wikipedia (wikipedia dot org) to verify all my facts.
The Savages (2007) .... Laura Linney was Wendy Savage
Jindabyne (2006) .... Laura Linney was Claire
Kinsey (2004) .... Laura Linney was Clara McMillen
She's All That (1999) .... Anna Paquin was Mackenzie Siler
Hurlyburly (New Line Platinum Series) (1998) .... Anna Paquin was Donna
Fly Away Home (1996) .... Jeff Daniels was Thomas "Tom" Alden and Anna Paquin was his daughter, Amy Alden
Dumb and Dumber (1994) .... Jeff Daniels was Harry Dunne
Sliver (Unrated Edition) (1993) .... William Baldwin was Zeke Hawkins
The Piano (1993) .... Anna Paquin was Flora McGrath
... aka La lecon de piano (France)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) .... Jeff Daniels was both Tom Baxter and Gil Shepherd
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Walter Berkman: It's Welles' masterpiece, really. Many people think it's Citizen Kane, but Magnificent Ambersons, if it hadn't been ruined by the studio, would've been his crowning achievement. As it is, it's still brilliant. It's the old story, genius not being recognized by the industry.
Lance: It sounds great. Who's in it?
Walter Berkman: Orson Welles? I don't know, I haven't seen it yet. I've seen stills.
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Brilliant expose of contemporary Family life May 10, 2009
Rodney J. Moss
This is so far from Hollywood and deserves a wide audience. Cleverly crafted in that, quite frequently it feels like we're voyeurizing, until a barely detected shudder of the hand-held camera pulls us back to the film's artifice. Brilliant performances by all involved, considering that we're knife edged on the disclosure of embarrassing scenes of self disclosure from moment to moment. The hysterical, uproarious laughter by the unsympathetic wife, the pompous fraility of the father, the confession of the older boy that he'd assumed unacknowledged ownership of a Pink Floyd song because he felt he'd written it, just a few of the poignant scenes. Other reviwers are keen to lay out the script for you. But if you are ready to plunge, I'd recommend you jump now.
 Slightly dysfunctional movie about a dysfunctional family March 26, 2009
Steven Mason (California)
The acting is fine in this film, as many reviewers have said. So enough said about that!
In some ways this film reminds me of another well-acted film about a dysfunctional family, Ordinary People (1980). I think that Ordinary People is the better one, because the story gets a little deeper into the characters' heads. In The Squid and the Whale it felt like I was always looking at the surface of the characters, except for the brief scene when Walt, the older boy, talks with a counselor, and even then the surface is barely scratched. I thought it odd that the older boy met with a counselor while the younger boy did not.
It didn't bother me that none of the characters were "likeable." It was easier to dislike the father than the mother, but the mother was pretty bad, too. I could easily sympathize with the kids, but even they were not likeable. Nor did the ambiguous ending bother me. It seemed clear enough that Walt was just beginning to come to grips with himself and his family, with the help of the counselor. Frank, the younger boy, seemed to be getting some non-professional help from his mom's lackadaisical boyfriend, the tennis instructor, though it wasn't clear how much help this guy could really give. What really bothered me was that I didn't get to know any of the characters.
Other than entertainment value, I ask myself what a movie is giving me. This movie is a serious drama, not an entertainment. But what did it show me? What did I learn? This film had the courage, I will say, to show how kids can be affected by what is going on around them. There were some graphic scenes - some would say disturbing - of the younger boy "acting out." But again it just didn't go deeper than that. To those offended by these scenes, may I point out that there are plenty of horror movies about kids that kill and hardly anyone complains about those! At least this movie has the redeeming quality of showing us real life, and I give it credit for that.
Ain't no good guy,Ain't no bad guy just you and me and we just disagree March 1, 2009
simple sellers
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Our story opens up in the summer of 1986. After two kids(Walt ,16) and Frank,12) and 17 yrs years of marriage, Bernard and Joan Berkman are calling it quits.They haven't been happy in years.They sleep in separate rooms.All he does is whine about everything and bark orders at her and make fun of her ,so she starts seeing other men. Frequently.
They figure that joint custody would suit them, best. Of course it doesn't. The kids began taking sides ,and refuse to stay with the other parent when it is their turn.It doesn't help that their father is extremely bitter ,because his wife got their townhouse in the divorce and that her career as a writer, has made her an
overnight sensation, and he can't get anything published anymore.He tells the children about the affairs in detail, so the kids will want to stay with him.This is when things really start to heat up.
Frank,believes the divorce is all his fault , and sinks into a deep depression , and starts acting out in frightening ways, such as drinking, swearing and other disturbing things that I cannot put on here.
Walt, is shocked and angered by the whole thing. He remembers when his parents were happy. He blames it all on his mother for cheating and won't have anything to do with her.He also brags to the whole school,that he wrote "Hey You" by Pink Floyd, which is absolutely hilarious , because that is just absurd that people would not realize he was making it up.
On a happier note, this movie is not all gloom and doom. There is a lot of great musical selections in it.(They even stuck a song from Schoolhouse rock in there) Also William Baldwin gives a lot of comical relief, as the laid back tennis instructor who is a positive fixture in Joan and boy's life.He also has the worst Mullet in Mullet History and has this weird catchphrase. His humor made this heavy handed movie bearable.
All the actors were stellar. It was nice to see Jeff Daniels with a full beard out of his likable,but dumb character phase. I don't care what anyone says, but Laura Linney was great as the mother, Joan. In the beginning, she is like a robot, towards the end ,she grows a backbone and becomes a much happier person and does things for herself sometimes.(That does not mean I agreed with everything her character did. I just understood why she did what she did. ) In fact , I understand They why all acted they did. They all had different perspectives on what happened and Noah Baumbach showed all 4 of them, and did it well. I hope he keeps writing.He understands the human condition.
All in all this a good movie. But I am warning you, no matter who you are. There are scenes in
the movie that are devastating and made to seem so real they will break your heart and make you
cringe.It really explores the depth of how much carnage ensues when two people who used to love each other split up and are so busy being full of hate and fighting over what went wrong and who was right that they forget what really matters.
 3 stars out of 4 December 22, 2008
One-Line Film Reviews (Ann Arbor)
The Bottom Line:
Much better at focusing on character than plot or narrative, The Squid and the Whale is an interesting film which breezes through its short running length and showcases a handful of perfect performances.
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