The Squid and the Whale....and....a certain JRB show

[jasonf]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 10:45pm

I just watched The Squid and the Whale. Jeff Daniels was incredible, as was the screenplay. There were so many nice touches in defining the family and the way they relate or didn't with each other. My favorite was Lili's running/bloody nose. So well done.

Anyway - all I kept thinking throughout the movie was that Bernard and Joan were exactly what Jaime and Cathy would have turned into had that relationship led to two children and another 10 years. Anyone else?

[respeck]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 1:57am

Haha. I didn't think that but I see where you are going. I don't think Jamie was that pertinacious, but it does bare some similarities now that you say it.

That being said the movie is amazing! I love it!!

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 2:55am

My #2 film of 2005! The fact that it only got one Oscar nomination is laughable, and says more about the Academy than it does about the quality of the film.

[jasonf]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 9:28am

No, Jaime wasn't THAT pretentious, but the fact of them being writers/in the arts, the connection to the museum of Natural History (can't you just say Jaime and Cathy's kids connecting to it that way?), the arguing over success, the cheating people in their little circle...and I would think Jaime and Cathy's kids would be just as screwed up as the two in the movie.

I really enjoyed the film - I would definitely say it was one of the best examples of how to write character I've seen - in 80 minutes you really felt like you knew so much about those people and their dynamics -- again, much like Last Five Years.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:32pm

This film was stunning in every way. It easily deserved Best Original Screenplay over Crash but was unfortunately lost in the shuffle. Rent this film, everyone. A little piece of trivia: the little boy who plays the younger son is Kevin Kline's son in real life, and he has obvously inherited his dad's acting chops!

Updated On: 5/28/06 at 12:32 PM

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 1:04pm

it was good but the scene with seamen and library books was just.... lovely?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 1:46pm

Agreed! I thought it was so true to life and acted to perfection. This cast was just stunning.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 2:10pm

a wonderful movie.

[jasonf]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 2:55pm

Funny - I kind of figured people here would like it. There are a lot of people on the imdb board who hated it. Why, I don't know - but I tend to agree with tastes here more than there anyway.

I was stunned at first that they had that kid doing the things he does and says - I also thought he was significantly younger than he actually was when filming. Not that I condone 12 year olds acting like that, but at least they're a bit more mature than the 9 or 10 I thought he was.