--- title: "The Squid and the Whale: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-squid-and-the-whale/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-squid-and-the-whale" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Squid and the Whale (2005): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 8 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to The Squid and the Whale, praising the painful comedy of its family break-up and Baumbach’s precise observation of parental vanity, adolescent confusion and shame. The reviews repeatedly credit the writing with finding humour in cruel behaviour without losing sympathy for the children caught in it. Praise also clusters around the performances, particularly Jeff Daniels as the pompous, self-regarding father, and the balance between embarrassment and sadness. The disagreement concerns how long that discomfort remains revealing. Eye for Film admires the wit and acting but finds the story static after its economical opening, with too little development or surprise. The Evening Standard has a sharper objection: the parents’ rudeness stops being funny, and their behaviour makes them difficult to accept as fully human. These reservations sit apart from a broadly favourable consensus that finds empathy and emotional honesty in the family’s ugliness. ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2005. The critic hails the film as a ruthless yet heartbreaking satirical comedy and a small miracle, commending its accurate depiction of educated parents projecting anxieties onto their children and the boys' conflicted responses. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/10/24/family-matters-7) ## Sight and Sound — Edward Lawrenson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 March 2006. The critic finds Baumbach's treatment of adolescent children caught in their parents' separation both humorous and empathetic, with a note-perfect 1980s soundtrack. The film is praised for its naturalistic, matter-of-fact approach to family break-up and strong performances, especially Jeff Daniels as the pompous father. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/3167) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 October 2005. The critic praises Baumbach's sharply comical and piercingly sad portrait of a collapsing Brooklyn family during a divorce, noting its precise observation of flawed characters without mercy or sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/05/movies/growing-up-bohemian-and-absurd-in-brooklyn.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Carina Chocano Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 2005. The critic calls the film a painfully funny semiautobiographical coming-of-age story, highlighting Baumbach's empathy and understanding in capturing the brutal honesty of family dynamics during divorce. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-16-ca-chocano16-story.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 April 2006. The critic finds it an exquisitely painful, root-canal-jabbingly uncomfortable black comedy about divorce, based on the director's parents' breakup. They single out the authentic feeling of real-life messiness, humiliation and shame, supercharged with fictional black comedy, along with the wonderful performances, especially Jeff Daniels as the monstrous novelist. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/apr/07/2) ## Time Out — Jessica Winter Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 4 April 2006. The review calls the film a rueful, plangent remembrance of divorce leavened by spry verbal wit and artful brevity, highlighting its comedy of embarrassment and shame. It singles out the superb cast, particularly Jeff Daniels as the diminished, self-regarding father, and Baumbach's skill in balancing farce and tragedy. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-squid-and-the-whale) ## Empire — Adam Smith 31 March 2006. The film is an acutely observed, painful, funny and merciless account of a middle-class Manhattan couple's divorce and its effects on their two sons. It particularly highlights Jeff Daniels' astonishing, career-best performance as the arrogant, ego-driven father. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/squid-whale-review/) ## Evening Standard Rating ***. 10 April 2012. Based on the director's childhood, the story depicts two New York writers in the 1980s locked in combat during divorce, with their sons becoming hostile and distressed. The fun in the parents' rudeness and inappropriate frankness soon palls, as the couple fails the test of remaining human. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dvd-reviews-squids-in-7387821.html) ## IndieWire — Indiewire 4 October 2005. The piece presents Baumbach's semi-autobiographical film as a sharp examination of a disintegrating intellectual family in 1980s Brooklyn. It notes the blend of humor and pain in the custody battles and identity struggles. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/noahs-arc-noah-baumbachs-the-squid-and-the-whale-77870/) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager 25 September 2005. The critic highlights the film's empathetic, non-judgmental take on a divorcing family's flaws and the damage to the children. Kline's raw, scene-stealing performance as the younger son is singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-squid-and-the-whale/) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin 5 October 2005. The review calls the film a raw, honest, and unflinching comedy-drama about a family breakup that maintains authenticity and emotional resonance. It praises the empathetic writing that finds affection for flawed, pretentious characters. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-squid-and-the-whale-1798308362) ## Paste — Keenan Mayo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 2005. The film is an achingly honest and autobiographical portrait of a Brooklyn family's divorce and its impact on the children, standing as the definitive divorce movie. Baumbach uses a tennis match metaphor and sharp observations of the characters' behaviors to capture the mix of humor, sadness, and emotional wounds. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-squid-and-the-whale) ## Eye for Film — Anton Bitel Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 6 April 2006. The critic describes the film as a finely observed portrait of family foibles and marital breakdown, full of subtlety, wit, and strong performances (especially Jeff Daniels and Jesse Eisenberg), but notes that it becomes static after an economical opening scene, with little narrative surprise or development. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-squid-and-the-whale-film-review-by-anton-bitel) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-squid-and-the-whale.md