Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home Culture

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE

by Staff writers
14 May 2006
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A

Starring: Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline
Director: and written by Noah Baumbach
Rated: MA15+

THE Squid and the Whale is all about being consumed – consumed by rage, resentment and unrealistic expectations.

Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) is a professor of English literature at New York University and was once a celebrated author. He cannot get his most recent novel published.

His wife Joan, was once his student, and he encouraged her to write. She has just had her first book published.

Joan’s success and Bernard’s resentment highlights all that’s wrong in their marriage. Joan has an affair and Bernard moves out.

The Berkmans come to an agreement about the custody of their boys, 16-year-old Walt (Jesse Eisenberg), who is devoted to his father and will do anything to win his approval, and the 10-year old Frank (Owen Kline), a sensitive and kind boy.

The children become bludgeoning tools in the marriage breakdown and subsequent divorce.

Bernard is particularly nasty in the demands he makes of his sons, his poor role modelling, and the poisonous way he speaks to them about their mother.

Walt and Frank have to grow up too quickly and make a choice about where they want to live, and who they want to become.

Maybe the title of this film has a literary allusion of which I am unaware. It’s unclear what it means in this story until we discover it is the exhibit at the natural history museum that most scared Walt when he was a boy.

Related Stories

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a time to celebrate the joy of God’s gift to humanity in Mary

St Ambrose and the conversion of St Augustine

Tips on how to prepare your littles ones to welcome Jesus

And then we get it, we get the film.

THE Squid and the Whale is a dark, but all too real, portrait of how children are used as pawns in divorce, and the price everyone pays for it.

This tough tale has brutal language that some viewers will not like, but marriage breakdown and family separation is rarely pretty.

Previous Post

KOKODA – Heroes of the Kokoda

Next Post

Rediscovering mission of laity

Staff writers

Related Posts

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a time to celebrate the joy of God’s gift to humanity in Mary
Faith

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a time to celebrate the joy of God’s gift to humanity in Mary

8 December 2023
St Ambrose and the conversion of St Augustine
Faith

St Ambrose and the conversion of St Augustine

7 December 2023
10 Bible quotes for the season of Advent
Family

Tips on how to prepare your littles ones to welcome Jesus

6 December 2023
Next Post

Rediscovering mission of laity

Facts don't support coded fiction

John Paul II shooting remembered

Popular News

  • Holy walk: Polish Catholic Community chaplain Fr Grzegorz Gawel at the centre of the Eucharistic procession holding the Blessed Sacrament.

    Eleven saint quotes on the Eucharist for Corpus Christi Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why do we pray to St Anthony when we want to find something?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The betrothal of Mary and Joseph

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • We remember at Christmas that Mary and Joseph and Jesus were all refugees.

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a time to celebrate the joy of God’s gift to humanity in Mary

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping