The plot of The Squid and the Whale is simple. A husband and a wife decide to get divorced, and both they and their children are suddenly thrown into a whirlwind of unfamiliar and difficult situations. The story is one that we've all heard before, which may detract from the viewer's overall enjoyment of the film.

The Berkman family of the movie consists of Bernard, the father (Jeff Daniels), the mother, Joan (Laura Linney), their two sons Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline), and a cat, who also has to suffer painful changes when the marriage falls to pieces.

Sure, anyone who has been touched by a divorce in some way will be able to relate to this aspect of the film. However, Squid is occasionally frustrating because it doesn't present its audience with many new insights. It does emphasize how significantly a divorce can affect the people involved in it, but in all honesty, who isn't aware of that?

If the viewer can overlook this stating of the obvious, the movie definitely does have redeeming qualities. For one, the acting is well done. The main characters are sufficiently realistic people despite (or perhaps because of) their quirkiness. This is particularly true about Jeff Daniels' character. Daniels plays a selfish father who is completely oblivious to the problems, feelings, or needs of everyone else. By far, I found Bernard to be the most intriguing of the characters in the movie. He is comic, often pathetic and, from time to time, depressing. As Bernard, who published a few books in his day, becomes less and less accomplished, he becomes more and more critical of writers long considered "the greats". He refers to "Tale of Two Cities" as "minor Charles Dickens". Daniels pulls off this role so convincingly that he succeeds in making his audience feel pity and a certain fondness for his character at the same time. In fact, all the main characters are a bit like this; their strange, occasionally abnormal, behavior sometimes pushes you away, but you can't help feeling a little bit of affection for them.

Most of the soundtrack is of high quality and some of the songs seem to provide insight into the characters. A few great artists are included in the soundtrack such as, Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, and Loudon Wainwright III.

If you're holding back seeing this film because of a concern that you'll be downcast afterwards, kick your anxiety under the sofa and visit your local theater. There is enough comedy within Squid, black though some of it may be, to provide viewers with a sense of emotional balance.