Fresh
A wry exercise in acute observation and emotional distancing, Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale represents what's best in autobiographical filmmaking.
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
The Squid and the Whale
Joint custody blows.
2005 · 1h 21m · R
Comedy, Drama
Directed by
Noah Baumbach
Overview
Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
Director and cast
- Noah Baumbach Director
- Jeff Daniels as Bernard Berkman
- Laura Linney as Joan Berkman
- Jesse Eisenberg as Walt Berkman
- Owen Kline as Frank Berkman
- William Baldwin as Ivan
- Halley Feiffer as Sophie Greenberg
- Anna Paquin as Lili
- David Benger as Carl
- Molly Barton as Graduate Student
- Bo Berkman as Graduate Student
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
91%
Tomatometer
Fresh
The Squid and the Whale is essentially about how we grow up by absorbing what is useful in our parents and forgiving what is not.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
Don't look now, but Jeff Daniels' days as 'the other Jeff' may be coming to an end.
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic
Fresh
Hilarious, harrowing and heartbreaking, The Squid and the Whale is one of the best movies of the year.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fresh
It has the messiness of real life, with uncombed hair and unanswered questions.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
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