Μύ Writer/director Noah Baumbach revisited his childhood for the "hilarious and humane" The Squid & The Whale. He penned the script from his experiences growing up in Brooklyn, New York, trying to come to terms with his parents' divorce. Headliners Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney both scored Golden Globe nominations while Baumbach earned an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay.
Cry And Whale
This DVD offers intimate access to the relationship between actor and director, starting with the behind-the-scenes featurette. Cameras go on location where we eavesdrop on Baumbach exchanging ideas with individual cast members before calling 'action', for instance Linney has to muster up some rage for one particular scene and talks about wanting to give her hands something to do as the adrenaline courses through her veins. The actors also take time out for interviews and Baumbach later reflects, "I'm drawn to characters who are articulate and cultured... but who have immense blind spots in terms of their emotional life."
Baumbach gets much deeper into the craft of writing in a 'Conversation' with fellow New York scribe Phillip Lopate. Running at almost 40 minutes, this Q+A offers a detailed and brutal dissection of the characters with reference to key scenes in the story. Some of the Freudian inferences are accidental though - Baumbach wanted Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) to have a poster for Blow-Up in his room but the rights were too expensive, so he went for The Mother And The Whore instead because Sony offered it for free. Later, when Lopate presses him on how close this story is to his own life, Baumbach gets a little coy. He explains that the layers of artifice that come with filmmaking actually helped to remove him from the reality and a few times reiterates that "I felt protected by this movie."
Fishing For Realism
In an introduction, Baumbach admits, "I'm sort of not comfortable analysing this movie." For that reason, instead of tracking the film with commentary, he talks about various aspects of it in 36 chapters accompanied by production stills. Although it doesn't offer much visual excitement, this is a very user-friendly feature that allows you to shuttle easily through headed points of interest. These range from writing, casting, rehearsals, cinematography, production design, editing, tone, and even the meaning of the title.
On the matter of tone, he says rather revealingly, "I always assume that what I'm writing is a comedy but then it turns out sadder that I thought it would be." Other chapters offer more in the way of rare insights into the collaboration between actor and director, especially when he talks about Jeff Daniels. Apparently his guarded approach meant it was a struggle to get communication flowing in the early stages. He knew Daniels was perfect for the role, however, because of his innate sense of comedy and "something very sad about his eyes."
At first glance this DVD looks a little skimpy on bonus features, but look a little deeper and there are more pearls than you might find in a whale's belly.
EXTRA FEATURES
