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The Squid and the Whale (2005)
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Writer/director Noah Baumbach's Oscar-nominated drama is a serio-comic account of an intellectual New York couple's divorce as seen from the perspective of their two sons. It's beautifully played by the principals, with Jesse Eisenberg particularly good as the clever but callow teenager beginning the painful process of realising that his father (Jeff Daniels) is not as perfect as he once thought. But at the heart of the film is Daniels's astonishing performance as Bernard, the subtly monstrous paterfamilias whose intellectual arrogance (he refers to Kafka as one of my predecessors) and casual meanness are tempered by a kind of wounded bewilderment, both at his own professional decline and at his abandonment by his wife (the excellent Laura Linney). Baumbach's film was apparently inspired by his own family's break-up in the 1980s. Perhaps that's why the agonising details are so acutely observed and offer an occasional, mildly uncomfortable feeling of partisanship. AS
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| Contains swearing. |
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Tell us what you think
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Running time
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77min
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Country of origin
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US
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Genre
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Comedy Drama
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Original language
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English
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Screenplay
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Noah Baumbach
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Theatrical distributor
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Columbia TriStar
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UK cinema certificate
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15
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UK cinema release date
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April 2006
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| awards information |
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Award |
Category |
Name |
Nominee/Winner |
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| Academy 2005 |
Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) |
Noah Baumbach |
Nominee |
| Golden Globe 2005 |
Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical |
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Nominee |
| Golden Globe 2005 |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical |
Jeff Daniels |
Nominee |
| Golden Globe 2005 |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical |
Laura Linney |
Nominee |
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Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
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