How sad is this?

A lot of fun.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Did the other reviewers neglect to mention that the two supposedly well educated parents constantly used the most foul language imaginable to and about their two early teen children? Or that the younger boy was sexually gratifying himself and spreading the guk all over the library books at school? Be warned before you pay money to watch this movie. 12-1-07

The Squid and the Whale follows two parents as they separate and how that affects their entire family. Something that jumped out at me almost immediately was the writing. The father character in particular is shown to be a very real, well- realized character right off the bat. And the rest of the characters are pretty much written around him, and it all works perfectly. But what is good writing with bad actors? The leading cast here is fantastic. Each one plays off of each other well enough to feel like a real family but poorly enough that you feel that every conflict has depth and gravitas. Especially towards the end when the characters begin to come to realize certain things the movie manages to really tug on some emotional heart strings and really make the audience feel for the characters, even the hardest ones. The movie is directed with hand-held camera, giving it a found footage/documentary vibe. And as a result it feels much more realistic. Not to say that the conflict seemed fake, but the directing just added to it. Overall I loved The Squid and the Whale. The direction, acting, and writing are all fantastic. It's hard to watch, and yet it's so engaging. In the end I would definitely recommend seeing this movie.

I thought the movie was pretty sad that we realise the parents (Daniels and Linney) split up and the fact, their boys were affected by this. I was really alarmed when Owen Kline's character was drinking alcohol at his young age because of this, I couldn't get over that they didn't suspect him getting a heart attack, not Jeff Daniels character as the father! It does reflect on some children who experience family breakdowns and trying to cope around the situation. I have to admit, there were some scenes seeing the boy Frank drinking alcohol, was very hard to watch. The movie was also shocking as well like, I didn't honestly expect to see Anna Paquin involved on this! I only found out that herself and Daniels acted again on this for the first time since "Fly Away Home" 10 years earlier. It was surreal that Paquin kissed Daniels and I still thought of them as film dad/daughter. They were a pretty good couple anyway so Im not complaining here lol! Although there was some sad and funny moments in this film, it was actually quite good! I give this movie a rating of 8/10!

"The Squid and the Whale" (2005) reminded me a bit of "Thumbsucker" (2005), "Me and You and Everyone We Know" (2005) and "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006). I guess weird "Indie" (aka "art house") movies about dysfunctional families where "a thing" a decade ago, although I have to say that "The Squid and the Whale" is by far the most disturbing in the list. While still far from the disturbia scale of "Happiness" (1998), "The Squid and the Whale" had more than enough of those moments that are just so awkward you can only shrug your shoulders in disbelief.If you're into weird 2005-ish "Indie" movies about dysfunctional families, "The Squid and the Whale" is a movie that should not be missed. If not, you might want to skip it. You won't be missing much.