About This Show
“Remarkable. ‘The Squid and the Whale’ is a satirical comedy–ruthless and heartbreaking. A small miracle.” — The New Yorker
“Sharply Comical. Noah Baumbach gets it right.” — The New York Times
The award-winning, heartfelt comedy, The Squid and the Whale is presented as part of Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center’s “Finest in World Cinema Series.”
Winner of the Beast Dramatic Directing Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Noah Baumbach wrote and directed this film about a family splintered by divorce. The film captures with extraordinary immediacy the inner workings of the Berkman family in 1986 in Brooklyn.
Bernard (Jeff Daniels), an academic and author, and his restless wife Joan, (Laura Linney) an up-and-coming writer, have given up on their marriage. Their two sons, Walt and Frank are left to grapple with their confusing and conflicted feelings. The experience is a tender, funny, and ultimately moving coming of age for Walt and a torturously premature one for Frank. The emotional tensions and strains that emerge during this difficult period for the Berkmans are given a remarkably subtle and nuanced portrayal as a family in transition learns to redefine itself.
The Squid and the Whale is in English, is 81 minutes long, and is rated R.