THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005), dir. Noah Baumbach

This movie confirms all my worst fears about divorce, insofar as how it affects children. A very literary couple, Bernard and Joan Berkman (Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney, respectively), decide to separate, leaving their two sons to choose sides. Teenage Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) already mimics the pretentious tones of his father, a once-promising novelist, and follows him to a shabbier part of Brooklyn. As Walt navigates the rickety world of adolescence aided by the inappropriate advice of his wannabe-lothario dad, he fosters a grudge towards Joan, whom he blames for his parents' split.

His younger brother Frank (Owen Kline), meanwhile, begins acting out in ways that are both shocking and disturbing. He starts drinking alcohol, cursing at authority figures, and spreading bodily fluids across his elementary school. The downward spiral both boys undergo is very unsettling to watch, and writer/director Noah Baumbach – who based “The Squid and the Whale” on his own childhood memories – shows them with an unflinching eye. He makes directorial choices that make the story feel extremely intimate: shots representing Walt and Frank’s point of view; or by framing their faces in the foreground so that their emotions hit us hard and naked.

I really liked how the story grew out of these characters, and that I couldn’t predict exactly what direction things were heading in. Yes, this nuclear family has become a ticking time bomb, but the overall tone of the film is kind of funny. The father, in particular, coaxed a smile out of me with his emotional buffoonery, casting judgements that only reveal how bitter he is deep down. At the same time, there is something pitiable in the way Bernard takes every opportunity to cast Joan in an unfavorable light, but nurses a faint hope of one day reconciling with her.

“The Squid and the Whale” has a bright visual style which livens up Baumbach's emotional hell considerably. You can practically smell the lush green trees in Prospect Park thanks to Robert Yeoman’s colorful cinematography. To his everlasting credit, the "Life Aquatic" writer leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and we can only infer that things will get better as the characters do some growing up. Can they fix their own personal foibles and get back into each other’s good graces? Maybe there are no answers to be had so early on. The ambiguous closing shot, which implies taking shelter in the happiness of the past, might represent the best and only thing that a person can do, given what are horrific circumstances.

Overall grade: ***1/2