Well here I am again posting about a movie months after it has left the theater. Sue me. I'm busy...with stuff...and things.
So I watched The Squid and the Whale for the first time last night. I'd been meaning to see it ever since I knew Noah Baumbach was the driving force behind the project. I have to say I'm sorry it took me this long to get around to the film.
Coming in at just under an hour and a half The Squid and the Whale is the perfect peak into the life of a family going through divorce. It is here that I have to admit that I am somewhat biased towards this film as I myself come from a family of divorce.
It took a short time for me to really get absorbed into the film, but slowly and surely the understated dialogue, and quick acidic humor seeps into you. Drawing you through the frame and into the lives of two kids, and mother and father who are at turns infuriating, funny, and sharply tear inducing.
I think ultimately what particularly won me over in regards to the movie is the disparate paths the two kids take in the film. One mimics everything his father does, swallowing what he has to say without bothering to question it. The other is resentful of his father and sides with the mother. Ultimately each discover that in these situations neither parent is 100% right or wrong....after all, as the saying goes, "It takes two to tango."
I could see how those who haven't personally experienced a family torn by divorce might not be able to relate to the characters in the same way, and ultimately find them frustrating, but if you have had personal experience in this arena, I highly recommend this film.
*** Three stars
2 comments:
I hated this movie. Which is not to say I didn't respect it, find it worthy of acclaim and awards, and see so much truth in it--truth that, like you, comes from my own personal history which mirrors it in many ways.
I hated it because it was made for me to hate it, to feel uncomfortable with the scenes, to find people in it I couldn't help but dislike.
I saw it months ago in the theaters so many of my first impressions--many that I put into print once in e-mail form between other viewers--are now lost. Sad that I can't recall more. Still, I know it was a good movie and I never want to see it again.
I can see that completely. While I found the movie funny, it was a humor that was steeped in pain. The thing for me is that in my personal journey, laughing at life was and in many ways is the only way I can cope with certain things.
When it came to subject matter like what is covered in the film, for me it was either laugh or become bitter...and so I laughed in tears.
The movie itself walks a very fine line...one that is extremely easy for the viewer to come down on either side of...
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