The Squid and the Whale

The Squid and the Whale (Director: Noah Baumbach)

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay (Noah Baumbach)
















Baumbach's 1995 film Kicking and Screaming is still one of the funniest movies I've ever seen (once again, not to be confused with this year's Will Ferrell soccer comedy). Mr. Jealousy was pretty good, but after that he sort of disappeared. Then, last year, he helped write the screenplay for Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic. Here, Anderson returns the favor by producing this new film that Baumbach scripted, which is getting some buzz for its performances.

Baumbach, along with similar predecessor Whit Stillman, must be tortured souls when it comes to writing and directing. Baumbach had a 7-year hiatus before Life Aquatic, and Stillman hasn't done anything for 7 years now as well, his last being The Last Days of Disco. These guys have crafted some very witty, entertaining, intellectual dialogue. That's kryptonite for box office and an extremely difficult kind of screenplay to keep churning out. It's quite possible that they had extinguished all of their ideas back in the 90's, because their movies (especially Stillman's) are rich with flowing conversation.

Well, now, Baumbach has returned and the movie he wants to do here is very different from the ones he did last decade. This is a dysfunctional family drama, but one that runs circles around The Family Stone. Here, Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) and his wife Joan (Laura Linney) are going to separate, and their two sons Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline) have to deal with it. Bernard, the "intellectual," used to have a good career writing and now that's gone down the tank, and he's become more of a critic of other works. Joan, the "hippie," has a better writing career than Bernard does, one that he resents for many reasons, mostly because "if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be writing." Walt is daddy's boy, spouting out the same kind of knowledge his father does and has the same kind of sexual hangups, and Frank is mommy's, coping with a burgeoning pre-adolescent life ready for alcohol and sexual exploration. Anna Paquin and a funny William Baldwin complicate matters further.

There's much more to discuss as far as story, but it's easy to see that I really liked it. It's got some of the best dialogue of the year, and I can't help but think Baumbach is writing somewhat about himself through Bernard. Daniels and Linney are getting deserved Oscar buzz, and the kids are good too. Eisenberg, who once could be described as Hallie Kate's brother, now has eclipsed his sister (wherever she went) and has been in some very interesting movies like Roger Dodger. But I'm not going to forgive him for Cursed. No one should be forgiven for that.

One of the better movies of the year.