The Squid and the Whale

Ok, so I hear of this Indie flick called "The Squid and the Whale." It's got Jeff Daniels in it, so I figure it might be a pretty decent film. I wasn't overly let down. I just felt that there was quite a bit missing from this potentially great film.

To explain a bit, this film is about an American family living in New York in the mid 80s. The premise of the story revolves around the family and the divorce that happens between husband and wife. The film dives into the emotions and mental issues that come from families that go through separation. Being from one of these sorts of families, I found at times that the acting was quite real to moments I remember in my past. That was one thing that I really enjoyed about the film. It really did focus on the problems that come into a family when things split apart.

What it didn't have, was a decent plot. Lots and lots of cutting made watching a coherent story a bit disorienting. The director called for fast cuts, and the script called for even quicker scenes. 30 seconds, 10 seconds; it was more like watching moments in a family that is divorced. Now, I'm not saying that this will take away from the film. It did add an interesting element to the story technique, but the storyline suffered.

As the title implies, there's some sort of Squid and Whale. This 'concept' comes up twice in the film. It is one of the children's family memories. Then, near the end, in a strange and unpredictable way, the same child runs to the museum, and looks at the squid, and whale (natural science museum.) I actually hope that reading that was confusing, as it was just as confusing in the film as it was here.

I believe that directors as of late have been trying to jump onto the ambiguous ending bandwagon (Magnolia, Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers.) I'd like to note that the films I've listed there were ones that did it well. I left the film thinking that there was something missing, as if scenes had been taken out. I know that there was fighting. I know that there were lots of problems at home. I know that there were relationship problems. I just don't know why I should care about this family, and their struggles. I felt no connection to the characters (outside of my strangely familiar past history, which shouldn't come into play when viewing a film.) All in all, I thought it was an interesting film that had its moments. But I'm not sure that it warrants any "hoop-la." Going to Blockbuster and can't seem to find anything on the back wall? Nothing in new releases, and have seen Dumb and Dumber too many times? Perhaps this is a good flick for you. It's harsh, with harsh themes, and lots of foul language. Lots of messed up sexual themes as well. But if you want to know what some families go through when getting a divorce, this is a pretty good film, and sticks pretty true to the tension (not necessarily themes, but relationships) between family members.

I especially liked how each parent seemed to want to win over their children. I never understood what the purpose of that was, as it somewhat happened here. Either way, pretty genuine film, and pretty well produced. I just had a hard time with the story. That's not to say that you will too. It just might though. Keep that in mind when you hit up the rental store.

6 of 10