Before the word divorce even exits the mouth of one of members of this family, it's pretty apparent that there's trouble in paradise. Bernard and Joan (Laura Linney) are constantly engaged in petty squabbles that aren't helped by the kind of high-and-mighty personality that Bernard thrives on. Once the couple tell their children (which consist of Walt and his younger brother Frank, played by Owen Kline) that they're separating, the two take it in different manners. Walt soon takes up a romance and acts distant from his mom, while Frank soon begins to drink alcohol on a regular basis and drifts away from his father.
The focus of the film remains primarily on the two sons and their father, and that structure did disappoint me slightly. Joan is left mainly on the sidelines during this adventure, and I kept hoping her escapades would take on depth over the course of the film, but she remains mainly a spectator in an event concerning her family that's nothing short of life-changing. It's especially aggravating seeing her lack of development considering how compelling the other three members of the family are within Noah Baumbach's script. Perhaps the best character of the bunch is Walt, whic
h is the role that put Jesse Eisenberg on the map. His ability to find a balance between off-putting and sympathetic is notable considering how tricky Walt is as a character; he's a teenager, a point in one's life that's an adventure on its own. Toss in all the changes stemming from divorce, and soon, his life spirals out of control. Eisenberg manages to make even Walt's most regrettable moments, such as when he berates his mother for ruining their family, have a sort of realistic pain behind them.
Jeff Daniels finds similar success as a flawed father figure that the movie thankfully never tries to turn into some "underdog hero" of sorts. He's got anger in him, especially regarding his divorce and the lack of progress on his new book but he buries it far beneath his intellectual ambitions. Daniels has a dynamic with Eisenberg and Kline that feels true to life. and he really makes Bernard's personality that thrives on subtlety extremely engaging.
Subtlety is actually an aspect that The Squid And The Whale utilizes a number of times to excellent results, particularly in it's final sequence. Baumbach smartly doesn't tack on a happy ending to the proceedings; that sort of conclusion would betray the harsh reality of divorce. Instead, the feature ends with a dialogue free sequence depicting Walt returning to as museum to look at an exhibit depicting a squid and a whale (hence the title) engaged in aquatic combat. Here, he wistfully reminisces about a time when he was a child, when his worst fear was not the agony of adjusting to divorce, but rather watching this exhibit depicting these two creatures brawling. It's a haunting scene, with a lingering mood of anxiety and uncertainty that shows how well Baumbach understands the emotions an event like divorce can inspire.
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