Spring Break
Offbeat Squid perfects divorce drama
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In one of the most poignant film releases in recent memory, writer-director Noah Baumbach reaches back into his childhood memories, providing us with sharp wit with a message. The Squid and the Whale is a strikingly human story of divorce and coming of age set in Brooklyn's posh Park Slope neighborhood in 1986.
Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) is a college literature professor, once-successful author and class-A New York Bohemian. Laura Linney plays, Joan, his post-hippie wife turned divorc5fe, herself a member of the literati seeking to publish a new book -- a fact that distresses the fiercely competitive Bernard, who swears a blue streak when she refuses to rewrite her novel to his specifications. Their children, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline), are stuck in the middle.
The boys deal with their parents' breakup in very different ways. Walt, 16, idolizes his father and, initially, absorbs the latter's insufferable pretentiousness like a sponge while plagiarizing Pink Floyd for the school talent show. Frank, 12, magnificently portrayed by the promising son of actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates, jerks off in inappropriate places, dabbles in alcoholism and emulates his father's foul mouth. Both children are understandably troubled by their parents' breakup, the difficulties of which are exacerbated by the revelation of their mother's infidelity and the appearance of a flirtatious student, Lili (Anna Paquin), who moves in with Bernard.
The Squid and the Whale is a distinctly clever film. The script is full of enjoyable one-liners and memorable moments. Though above all, the characters are painfully realistic. Who hasn't experienced an embarrassing episode like Walt's suave explanation to his putative girlfriend Sophie (Halley Feiffer) that Franz Kafka's Metamophosis is "Kafkaesque"? It is this realism, enhanced by the grainy look and characteristic Steady Cam shake, that makes the film so effective. The collective despair and humiliation of the cast is palpable because we can relate easily to their circumstances.
The authenticity of the characters, and hence of the film more generally, comes thanks to some excellent performances, most notably by Daniels and Kline. The Squid and the Whale represents a major shift in Daniels career, which previously had been highlighted by the aptly titled 1994 Farrelly brothers comedy Dumb and Dumber. In Squid, Daniels exhibits previously unrealized talent and perfect comic timing in his portrayal of the overbearing dad in crisis.
Though his character is a caricature of pompous yuppies the world over, Daniels manages to play Bernard with a certain blunt indifference that makes him unique. Though Bernard is unnecessarily critical, hugely self-absorbed and, frankly, a bit of a jerk, Daniels emphasizes his pitiable aspects more than those deserving of scorn and derision.
As good as Daniels is, young Owen Kline steals the show as Frank Berkman. Frank's antics evoke the discomfiting works of Todd Solondz (Happiness, Welcome to the Dollhouse); on several occasions, you will laugh at him because you are not sure what else to do. His character is so nuanced that he can seem almost adorable when chugging beer, smearing semen on a locker or engaging in a near-Oedipal moment. The strength of Kline's acting is, perhaps, best revealed in his relationship with tennis coach cum potential step dad Ivan (William Baldwin in a terrific bit part). The two share a bond of friendship that Kline plays with a subtlety well beyond his years and experience.
It is Frank and Walt who allow The Squid and the Whale to transcend the screen. At its heart, the movie tells a tale not of growing up -- a gradual process -- but punctuated evolution of the self. Two boys forced to face demons (and that is where, late in the film, the title is key), overcome them and step out of their father's shadow. At times, Baumbach's film strays dangerously close to suggesting that mother Joan will make it all better, but that is not the message we are ultimately left with. The Squid and the Whale is an intensely personal, largely autobiographical, story. Apparently, what Baumbach gained from his parents' divorce was not a newfound appreciation for his mom, but rather greater understanding of himself. Thanks to this sublime new movie, low-budget and free of wiz-bang and gosh-wow, we too gain that insight. This movie won't change your life like the events it portrays did Baumbach's, but it may well nestle into your soul.