Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

calvinnme This is probably my most personal review. Bear with me for a paragraph. In college I was head over heels in love with a guy who seemed to be feeling the same way, then just one day he stopped his attention, and left skid marks on his way out of town after graduation. No goodbye. A year later he returns with a red head from San Angelo he wants to marry. He took 18 days to figure out what to do with the redhead. He took 18 months to figure out what to do with me. Obviously I was always the backup plan, but it was good practice for being what I've been the rest of my life - the backup plan. So I've kept tabs on him over the years. He married the redhead, she cheated on him, they had a baby, they had another, then she cheated on him some more and then she divorced him after 25 years of marriage with half of his sizable savings in tow to pursue her own career. His now 32 year old son has three favorite movies (Yay Facebook!) - "I Heart Huckabees", "The Sting", and this movie. The last one, about a divorce, naturally interested me. Could I perhaps get some insight into the disintegration of my first love's marriage by seeing this film? Maybe, so I watched it.If this film is how this guy turned out - from the viewpoint of his only son - boy did I dodge a bullet! The movie starts out with a family tennis game. Immediately you see the tension between husband and wife. The way the match is divided up is initially how things are. The oldest son takes dad's side, because he looks up to him. The youngest son feels close to his mother. Kudos to Jeff Daniels. He plays with superb accuracy the part of the arrogant literature professor who peaked early with several publications but whose well of creativity has seemed to run dry. If you have ever met such people, and spending too much time in college as I have, you'll immediately recognize this guy. He manages to keep his self esteem by passive aggressive yet withering criticism of everybody else. The tension between husband and wife grows. The kids know things are not going well, and then one day a family conference. Mom and dad are separating but will have joint custody with a confusing schedule that makes the parents feel good about themselves but is convenient for nobody, especially the kids. The kids act out in a number of bizarre ways over the divorce - plagiarism and masturbation in public places being two of them. It effects the oldest boy's burgeoning relationship with a girl in school as he imitates dad's style and gets dad's results. Now the dad likes to call everybody a Philistine who isn't well educated or interested in what he considers good books and interesting movies. Imagine his surprise/humiliation when he finds out his ex-wife prefers the company of their family tennis instructor, Ivan (Bill Baldwin), who ironically "peaked early" career wise too. He was a pro tennis player who was injured and now he just teaches, but he seems very happy with his lot and comfortable with who he is. At first the oldest boy clearly sides with dad, like I said, even calling mom a whore for her affairs while still married to dad. He doesn't get that this has nothing to do with sexual wantonness on his mother's part, but probably she was just trying to find some comfort since she can't get that from her iceberg of a husband. Daniels' character tries to rationalize his wife leaving him by saying it was because she was beginning to get some publishing success and he is in a dry spell. He doesn't get that this woman is so over him because of his self absorbed ways that have gone on for the greater part of two decades.Laura Linney is particularly good as the wife because she doesn't have a lot of dialogue. She is having to convey how she is feeling with looks and actions, and she definitely gets her viewpoint across.The film is set in Brooklyn in 1986, but it doesn't make a show of the culture of 1986 to where it is practically a character itself. This is NOT "The Wedding Singer". How does this turn out? I'll let you watch and find out, although I've already given away a great deal. I'll just say the ending is abrupt. As for the guy who jilted me back in 1979 - he wears a beard, Jeff Daniels wears a beard in the film. Linney has red hair. His wife who ran on him had red hair. There are two kids in this film. The guy who jilted me had two kids. Still feeling like I dodged a bullet. Highly recommended even if you are not taking a (perhaps) voyeuristic peak into the life of somebody you should have forgotten decades ago.

SquigglyCrunch The Squid and the Whale follows two parents as they separate and how that affects their entire family. Something that jumped out at me almost immediately was the writing. The father character in particular is shown to be a very real, well- realized character right off the bat. And the rest of the characters are pretty much written around him, and it all works perfectly. But what is good writing with bad actors? The leading cast here is fantastic. Each one plays off of each other well enough to feel like a real family but poorly enough that you feel that every conflict has depth and gravitas. Especially towards the end when the characters begin to come to realize certain things the movie manages to really tug on some emotional heart strings and really make the audience feel for the characters, even the hardest ones. The movie is directed with hand-held camera, giving it a found footage/documentary vibe. And as a result it feels much more realistic. Not to say that the conflict seemed fake, but the directing just added to it. Overall I loved The Squid and the Whale. The direction, acting, and writing are all fantastic. It's hard to watch, and yet it's so engaging. In the end I would definitely recommend seeing this movie.

dissident320 There is quite a personal feel to this movie that captures a couple that is divorcing and how that affects their children. I enjoy the interesting rhythm to the dialogue in Noah Baumbach movies and this one was no exception. The family is portrayed as overly honest and perhaps inappropriate conversations with their children. Overall it's an interesting slice of life type of movie. There's a bit of a story as everyone adjusts to the divorce but it's really not about payoff. The running time is under 90 minutes so it's short and sweet and doesn't outstay its welcome.

SnoopyStyle It's 1986 Brooklyn. Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) is a petty, self-important writer on the decline. His son Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) worships him. His wife Joan (Laura Linney) is divorcing him and gaining success as a writer. His younger son Frank questions his superiority. Joan starts going out with tennis pro Ivan (William Baldwin). Walt pushes aside his girlfriend Sophie as he falls for Bernard's student and possible girlfriend Lili (Anna Paquin).I don't know if Noah Baumbach is presenting something from his life. All I know is that the father is unrelentingly annoying. He makes it hard to watch this movie sometimes. Walt also presents his own problems but Bernard's ugly personality overshadows everything. He takes away any humor or joy from the film.