the squid and the whale ( 2005 ) jeff daniel and laura linney and jessie eisenberg and owen kline and anna paquin and william baldwin . literary autobiography with heartfelt humor . filmmaker noah baumbach be back in fine form since his debut with the excellent kicking and screaming ( a personal fave of mine while a diner for the 90 ) in this semi autobiographical account of his family deal with his parent divorce with bittersweet frankness and a heaping of witty humor . the family berkman of park slope and brooklyn circa the early 1980s and consists of author or teacher bernard ( daniel in a career high performance that deserve an oscar nod ) and literary pursuant mother joan ( linney sublimely good ) and son walt and frank ( eisenberg and kline and the latter the progeny of kevin kline and phoebe cates make a culkinian debut with surprising chop ) aka chicken and pickle ( their mom nickname ) . the quartet be harmonious in literary pursuit and drastic life change when the parent agree on separate send the boy ( and ultimately themselves ) into an emotional tailspin . bernard and a very sardonic critical yet love man and be take it very internally despite his sarcastic remark about everything to his son a a sound board in his attempt to keep his boy together by a joint custody agreement with joan by take a fixer upper brownstone across the park while he deal with the likelihood that his new book will never be publish . joan affair be discover shockingly by the boy walt the more avuncularly bitter lash out and blame her for not give the marriage a chance reasoning that dad lack of success have make her seek another shot a life of empty sex yet promise in her undiscovered writing talent ( much to the resentment of bernard ) while meanwhile bud tennis pro wannabe frank and the young and begin to experiment with alcohol and masturbation . add to the mix be lili ( paquin ) and a female write student of bernard and who have a hidden agenda when bernard invite her to share his new home a a roommate while the boy visit every other day with mixed result . walt be attempt to begin a sexual awakening as well with his first girlfriend but be get all the wrong comic advice from bernard who be clueless with the opposite sex a he be also try to have sex with lili while burn over joan who have hook up with frank tennis instructor ivan ( a doofy baldwin whose every other utterance be brother ) . achingly funny and sharply witty and skewer with some pricelessly amusing moment include the run gag of bernard drive his kid around the neighborhood ( my space be miss . an apt metaphor for his listless situation ) and subtle touch ( bernard read saul bellow the victim and the new home decorate with poster of film like psycho and the mother and the whore and use the instrumental theme of tangerine dream score to risky business during frank sexual awakening . ) ) bring a smile if not a burst of laughter in the unease of a family reluctant transition that will scar them forever . baumbach be clearly make a heartfelt valentine to his own upbringing when his parent eventually divorce during his try teen and the affect that have rub off be bittersweet and universally humorous . he have a keen touch with his actor especially daniel and the centerpiece character and who be brilliantly funny and touching and head shake misanthropic at the absurdity of his situation ( at one point he say glibly with a touch of melancholy and that my home which i use to live in a you may know and to his son during one of their jaunt back and forth ) that have echo of his first fine role a flap and the philander english professor husband of the doomed debra winger in term of endearment and suggest a bookend to what flap may have become ultimately ( and i be damn if i be not right at one point walt be look at his father novel backflap and the photo suggest a still from that film . ) . bernard genuinely care for his family but do thing in such an as backward ( and frugal ) way that it be borderline heartbreaking especially his confounded loss of his status ( both professionally and familially ) that at one point i well up with tear a he caress a shelve of book while drop frank off with his mom . daniel have always be one of my all time faves and a severely underrated ( and underestimated actor ) it be criminal if he do not get an academy award nomination . there be some very funny moment throughout with the brother particularly frank stream of profanity in frustration at the tennis lesson ( no doubt from his competitive father in several sequence ) and walt stone cold declaration that the musical piece he will be perform and pink floyd hey you and be write by him a an original work . baumbach have craft some fine work over the year ( the aforementioned masterpiece of kick and scream about recent college grad bud deliberately not accept their new status in the real world by refuse to adapt and his recent collaboration with executive producer and fellow auteur wes anderson on last year equally sublimely funny or sad the life aquatic with steve zissou ) and his late and a blend of salinger and updike suggest a novella come to life and one of the year fine comedic drama .