The Squid and the Whale 2005
7.3 / 10
The Squid and the Whale
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.
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.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 18 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Bernard Berkman
... Joan Berkman
... Walt Berkman
... Frank Berkman
... Ivan
DB
David Benger... Carl
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by Wuchak
***Gripping realistic account of divorce and its consequences; it’s also occasionally comical*** “The Squid and the Whale” (2005) is a frank, quirky and amusing drama about a family from Brooklyn in 1986 that encounters divorce and the ramifications thereof. The father (Jeff Daniels) is a literary professor and fading author while the wife (Laura Linney) is an emerging writer, a sweet liberal who for some reason can’t stop having affairs. The two boys are played by Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline. William Baldwin is on hand as a tennis instructor while Anna Paquin plays a college student. The story is unsurprisingly based on director/writer Noah Baumbach’s own family’s experience. I say “unsurprisingly” because the movie smacks of real life with its candid and sometimes comical approach. A few viewers didn’t ‘get’ the father, Bernard Berkman (Daniels), and have interpreted him in an uber-negative way. Yes, he’s a grotesquely competitive, pompous cheapskate, but his comical flaws are rounded out by an inherent decency. He’s clearly not the unfaithful partner and wants to keep the family together. He takes the time to spend quality time with his boys and mentor them, especially Walt (Eisenberg), who idolizes him. Speaking of the father and Walt, Eisenberg and Daniel’s characters and their performances are the highlight of this picture. Both characters are fascinating psychological studies. Eisenberg possesses the intense, intelligent charisma of James McAvoy and Brando. Is it any wonder that he went on to play The Joker in the DCEU? Winsome Halley Feiffer is on hand as his girlfriend. Speaking of females, Anna Paquin is another highlight even while her lack of modesty isn’t very becoming. Nevertheless she looks great in jeans. The movie runs 1 hour, 21 minutes and was shot in Brooklyn, New York. GRADE: A-
Release Date:
Oct 05, 2005 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 21`
MMPA Rating:
R
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Squid and the Whale
***Gripping realistic account of divorce and its consequences; it’s also occasionally comical*** “The Squid and the Whale” (2005) is a frank, quirky and amusing drama about a family from Brooklyn in 1986 that encounters divorce and the ramifications thereof. The father (Jeff Daniels) is a literary professor and fading author while the wife (Laura Linney) is an emerging writer, a sweet liberal who for some reason can’t stop having affairs. The two boys are played by Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline. William Baldwin is on hand as a tennis instructor while Anna Paquin plays a college student. The story is unsurprisingly based on director/writer Noah Baumbach’s own family’s experience. I say “unsurprisingly” because the movie smacks of real life with its candid and sometimes comical approach. A few viewers didn’t ‘get’ the father, Bernard Berkman (Daniels), and have interpreted him in an uber-negative way. Yes, he’s a grotesquely competitive, pompous cheapskate, but his comical flaws are rounded out by an inherent decency. He’s clearly not the unfaithful partner and wants to keep the family together. He takes the time to spend quality time with his boys and mentor them, especially Walt (Eisenberg), who idolizes him. Speaking of the father and Walt, Eisenberg and Daniel’s characters and their performances are the highlight of this picture. Both characters are fascinating psychological studies. Eisenberg possesses the intense, intelligent charisma of James McAvoy and Brando. Is it any wonder that he went on to play The Joker in the DCEU? Winsome Halley Feiffer is on hand as his girlfriend. Speaking of females, Anna Paquin is another highlight even while her lack of modesty isn’t very becoming. Nevertheless she looks great in jeans. The movie runs 1 hour, 21 minutes and was shot in Brooklyn, New York. GRADE: A-
Cast & Crew of
The Squid and the Whale
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... Bernard Berkman
... Joan Berkman
... Walt Berkman
... Frank Berkman
... Ivan
DB
David Benger... Carl
... Lili
... Sophie Greenberg
MB
Molly Barton... Graduate Student
BB
Bo Berkman... Graduate Student
... Graduate Student
SK
Simon Kaplan... Graduate Student
... Graduate Student
... Graduate Student
... Graduate Student
BS
Ben Schrank... Graduate Student
AS
Amy Srebnick... Graduate Student
... Graduate Student
ES
Emma Straub... Graduate Student
AW
Alan Wilkis... Graduate Student
Produced By
... Producer
... Unit Production Manager
... Producer
Videos & Photos of
The Squid and the Whale
Videos ( 1)
Photos ( 18 )
Related Movies To
The Squid and the Whale
Tarzan (1999)
7.3 /10
Tarzan was a small orphan who was raised by an ape named Kala since he was a child. He believed that this was his family, but on an expedition Jane Porter is rescued by Tarzan. He then finds out that he's human. Now Tarzan must make the decision as to which family he should belong to...
Run Time: 1hr 28` . MMPA: G . Release: 18 Jun 1999
Director: James P. Alles , Chris Buck , Johan Klingler
Producer: Bonnie Arnold , Christopher Chase , Mary Hidalgo
Stars: Tony Goldwyn , Minnie Driver , Glenn Close , Alex D. Linz , Rosie O'Donnell , Brian Blessed
A Minecraft Movie (2025)
0 /10
Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve.
Run Time: 1hr 41` . MMPA: PG . Release: 31 Mar 2025
Director: Laura Hutton , Sophie Calver , Jon Valera
Producer: Jon Spaihts , Sally Cunningham , Brian Andrew Mendoza
Stars: Jack Black , Jason Momoa , Matt Berry , Pauline Chalamet , Danielle Brooks , Jennifer Coolidge
Out of Exile (2023)
0 /10
Recently paroled thief Gabriel Russell tries to balance his life and mend a troubled family as an FBI agent hunts him down, along with his crew after a botched armored car robbery.
Run Time: 1hr 47` . MMPA: R . Release: 20 Jan 2023
Director: Kyle Kauwika Harris
Producer: Kelley Gann , Marcus Cox , Jacob Snovel
Stars: Adam Hampton , Karrie Cox , Kyle Jacob Henry , Ryan Merriman , Peter Greene , Hayley McFarland
Conjuring the Cult (2024)
0 /10
After discovering his blood-soaked daughter dead in the bathtub, David Bryson attends a self-help group to help save him from his ghostly nightmares. But when a group of mysterious cult-like women offer to help him resurrect his daughter. David's choices will not just decide his fate... but the fate of his dead daughter's SOUL.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2024
Director: Calvin Morie McCarthy
Producer:
Stars: Neil Green , Elissa Dowling , Chynna Rae Shurts , BJ Mezek , Jason Brooks , Brad Littlefield
Death of a Unicorn (2025)
0 /10
A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.
Run Time: 1hr 47` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Mar 2025
Director: Bianka Szelestey , Dora Takacs , Joshua Brownwood
Producer: Justin Reardon , Nate Kaimya , Jacob Epstein
Stars: Paul Rudd , Jenna Ortega , David Pasquesi , Will Poulter , Richard E. Grant , Anthony Carrigan
The Accountant (2016)
7.3 /10
As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities and the body count starts to rise.
Run Time: 2hr 8` . MMPA: R . Release: 03 Oct 2016
Director: Ivan J. Fonseca , Janine Gosselin , Amir R. Khan
Producer: Vicki L. Sawyer , Sommer Oliver , Nicole Abellara Hallman
Stars: Ben Affleck , Anna Kendrick , J.K. Simmons , Jon Bernthal , Jeffrey Tambor , Cynthia Addai-Robinson
Wicked Minds (2003)
5.3 /10
Holden returns home from college and is surprised to find his overpowering competitive father married to a much younger woman Lana. Holden quickly falls for the beauty and charisma of his step mother. A passionate affair begins between son and stepmother.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 01 Mar 2003
Director: Jason Hreno
Producer: Serge Denis , Anne Carlucci , Jean Bureau
Stars: Angie Everhart , Andrew W. Walker , Winston Rekert , Amy Sloan , Frank Schorpion , Ellen David
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
7.4 /10
Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.
Run Time: 2hr 20` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 11 Jul 2017
Director: Ana Oparnica Sebal , Trisha Burton , Kimi Webber
Producer: Peter Chernin , Rick Jaffa , Natasha Wehn
Stars: Andy Serkis , Woody Harrelson , Steve Zahn , Karin Konoval , Michael Adamthwaite , Ty Olsson
SpongeBob Squarepants: Kreepaway Kamp (2024)
0 /10
While at Kamp Koral for a reunion, SpongeBob and the gang are stalked by a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows as campers start disappearing one by one!
Run Time: 45` . MMPA: NR . Release: 10 Oct 2024
Director: Fred Osmond , Ian Vasquez , Kurt Snyder
Producer: Stephen Hillenburg , Marc Ceccarelli , Lauren Gauthier
Stars: Tom Kenny , Bill Fagerbakke , Rodger Bumpass , Clancy Brown , Carolyn Lawrence , Mr. Lawrence
The Monkey (2025)
0 /10
When twin brothers find a mysterious wind-up monkey, a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree forcing the estranged brothers to confront the cursed toy.
Run Time: 1hr 37` . MMPA: R . Release: 14 Feb 2025
Director: Bria Rose Wilk , Adam McCarthy , Benjamin Galloway
Producer: Chris Cole , Dave Caplan , Andrea Hughes
Stars: Theo James , Colin O'Brien , Zia Newton , Kingston Chan , Tatiana Maslany , Elijah Wood
Front of the Class (2008)
8.1 /10
A boy with Tourette's syndrome overcomes criticism and discrimination to achieve his dream of becoming a teacher.
Run Time: 1hr 35` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Dec 2008
Director: Peter Werner
Producer: Andrew Gottlieb
Stars: James Wolk , Treat Williams , Dominic Scott Kay , Sarah Drew , Kathleen York , Joe Chrest
McVeigh (2024)
0 /10
A haunting psychological thriller based on one of America's most infamous figures. After the Waco siege, a chilling plan brews in the mind of army veteran Timothy McVeigh. What follows are the harrowing real-life events of the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history.
Run Time: 1hr 30` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Jun 2024
Director: Mike Ott
Producer: James Schamus , Stephen Braun , Joe Pirro
Stars: Alfie Allen , Brett Gelman , Ashley Benson , Anthony Carrigan , Tracy Letts , Grayson Berry