The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Excellent film. Realistic portrayal of what happens when a marriage breaks down......and each character behaved fairly realistically. One of my Top Ten

Strange movie. It broke up and froze at times which didn't help. Acting was good.

Great acting and very well crafted and believable story. The characters are just so extreme though and quite difficult to like. There are many cringe worthy and uncomfortable moments in the movie, but ultimately I enjoyed it and found it an interesting view of the effects of divorce on a family.

This is a sad but also ultimately uplifting story (in my opinion) of a family that goes through a divorce. This movie is really all about exploring its characters and what I liked most is that each character is taken equally seriously, neither becoming a lead role. All the characters are in a very real and raw way believable, not dramaticised in anyway, and if you are capable of feeling an array of human emotions you won't find this movie a bore at all.

Quite a interesting movie but a bit too serious.

A quiet movie about a wife and husband who divorce and their relationships with their kids and new partners.

A hard movie to like. Great acting. Difficult subject

Wow this movie really hit a nerve with a lot of people. It wasn't THAT bad! The acting was good and the story was real enough. It did end too suddenly and it was hard to take the totally "freaky" father character. After watching The Weather Man, 2005 must have been the year for portraying "airhead" guys as fathers/ husbands. No doubt there are a few around but hard to believe there are many soooo lame. This is definitely not a "family" movie, but it does highlight the downside of self indulgence by parents. Maybe that's what a lot of people find too confronting?

This was a really great movie. It is in the independent spirit of an Ed Burns movie. Great story and a really well acted. Worth adding to your queue.

An interesting and seemingly very real story of family life, albeit of a rather dysfunctional family. It easily could've gone on for twice as long and still kept the viewer involved. As it was, it ended unexpectedly.

I find it hard to believe this film could have won any awards, all I can say is the standard must have been very low. We kept waiting for this film to improve and believe me, it didn't! It is slightly sick and perverted, I would not recommend it to anyone.

What a surprise... yet another Margret and David recommended reject. All of us have some sort of issues and all of us participate in some sort of dysfunction within our own families, so I truly have no idea what this film is about.... I don't think this film is a "warts and all approach", rather a film about nothing.

Great movie. Thought provoking with many layers.

Found it difficult to get into probably because it was boring. Acting was weak. Ending really left one still wondering.

liked Laura Linney & jesse eisenberg. Insightful.

Beautifully written, directed and acted coming-of-age story, a great American indie-flick. Bitingly-sad moments leavened by some laugh-out-loud moments

Boring all the way through......

A different and interesting US film.

I found it a bit dull on the whole...

An excellent "small" movie. Very well scripted and acted, this story of a disintegrating family is squirm making and funny at the same time.

Not a lot of substance.

On the surface a pretty serious look at a family breakup. Underneath, a quirky and intelligent treatise of human character. A number of (black) laughs and thorougly enjoyable.

The language is salty, the script is brilliantly real. You won't particularly like these people, but you will feel their pain. The whole cast is terrific. Extras are disappointing - not worth watching.

A nice movie that had many good laughs - sometimes just at the fashion and how times have changed. A good night in

Dumb.

Won't be everyone's taste this one. Very bleak in parts and a 'warts and all' approach to the effects of a marriage breakdown on a family.

An interesting view of a dysfunctional family with all its warts, especially as it's (semi?) autobiographical. The sins of the parents are passed onto the children - coping with sadness by alcohol abuse (the sub teen) and misogyny visited on the mother and the prospective girlfriend. No standard Hollywood happy ending but a hope of redemption in the fact of the elder son's connection with the production.

An awful film. My husband and I couldn't even finish watching it. It is a self-indulgent and navel gazing film. There really isn't anything redeeming about ths film.

Moving and engrossing, well acted.

The performances by the children are incredible; especially the youngster for whom the role must have been very confronting. It is definitely not one to watch with the children, although the honesty of the film might be good for adolescence to watch on their own. (Lessons in why you should not lie, why you should respect your partner etc). It all ends rather abruptly, disappointing this viewer.

Really excellent movie but is at times uncomfortable and confronting, as we witness the death throws of a dying dysfunctional relationship and its effects on the two boys in the family. Lays bare the devastating effects of narcissistic parents on a child's development.

Ok if you like disturbing movies.