The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Overview · Where to watch · Cast & crew · Reviews

Joint custody blows.

Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

• Released: 2005-10-05
• Genres: Comedy, Drama
• Runtime: 1h 21m
• Status: Released
• TMDB rating: 7.0/10 from 1,114 votes

Directed by Noah Baumbach.

Top cast

• Jeff Daniels as Bernard Berkman
• Laura Linney as Joan Berkman
• Jesse Eisenberg as Walt Berkman
• Owen Kline as Frank Berkman
• William Baldwin as Ivan
• Halley Feiffer as Sophie Greenberg
• Anna Paquin as Lili
• David Benger as Carl
• Molly Barton as Graduate Student
• Bo Berkman as Graduate Student

Full cast & crew

Where to watch The Squid and the Whale

• United States: stream on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads, Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel; rent on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home; buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
• United Kingdom: rent on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store; buy on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store
• India: rent on Amazon Video
• Canada: rent on Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, CosmoGo, YouTube, Amazon Video; buy on Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, CosmoGo, YouTube, Amazon Video
• Australia: rent on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video; buy on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video

Movies like The Squid and the Whale

If you enjoyed The Squid and the Whale, these movies have a similar feel:

• Landline (2017)
• Brooklyn Rules (2007)
• Igby Goes Down (2002)
• Somewhere in Queens (2023)
• Real Women Have Curves (2002)
• Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)
• Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025)
• Crooklyn (1994)
• 10,000 Saints (2015)
• The Joneses (2010)
• Rushmore (1998)
• Diggers (2007)

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