A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
My record collection
[294] The Squid and the Whale (DVD)
I already posted about the CD release of the soundtrack of The Squid and the Whale a couple of years ago and might have considered the film covered by that except that while writing that post I commented on how little actual Dean and Britta was on it. Britta, on the mailing list in 2005, assured us that there was more of their music in the film:
We had 8 cues in the movie. The 2 main themes recur 3 times (each time with a slightly different arrangement), and we did a version of one of the Bert Jansch songs (without vocals) as well as that version of “Love On A Real Train.”
So… based on that I guess I’d better re-watch the film… and listen harder. I last watched the film way back in 2006 when we saw it at the BFI (I think). I rated it 7/10 then which I guess is why I haven’t gone back to it… so, I’ll hit play now.
So… the problem I have with The Squid and the Whale is that I really like a film to make some sense to me and The Squid and the Whale doesn’t - I don’t understand the characters and the way they behave. While I appreciate the film as a story, and it is brilliantly told and acted, I can’t imagine a world where people behave the way they do - so it’s not a film I can love. I suspect this may be a regional/national disconnect? Maybe Americans, or even more precisely New Yorkers, will understand it better, and maybe even see the humour that the critics always mention, all I see is horrible people behaving horribly to one another. And that’s not funny.
Maybe it helps a little that the actors are so perfect - Laura Linney in particular - but pretty much everyone is so well played, even if I don’t really like any of them!
The soundtrack is exceptional, all well chosen and perfectly placed, and it’s always nice to hear Dean & Britta’s contributions which are pretty recognisable now, but suspect on first viewing in 2006, would have been more difficult.
Second viewing I’ve dropped it to a 5/10 - being in the cinema is almost always worth a point, and my ratings across the board have become harsher in the last nineteen† years, so I imagine my opinion of the film is pretty much the same as it was on first viewing.
After my post about the soundtrack a discussion ensued that eventually led to about 19 minutes of The Squid and the Whale related music being posted on Dean and Britta’s Patreon over the course of a couple of months. You need to be a patron to hear them, and since their Patreon is on pause I’m not sure if you can.
This month's music is thanks to Andy Aldridge, who suggested we post our score from The Squid & the Whale soundtrack album, since our tracks have mysteriously disappeared from the streaming services.
Britta - October Music: The Squid & the Whale Score (Patreon, October 2023)
Here’s Dean’s version of Pink Floyd’s Hey You which is a key song in the film (but not Dean’s cover):
And Family Conference developed into The Sun is Still Sunny on Dean & Britta’s Back Numbers released a couple of years after the film. I love this clip of them performing it in a stairwell for La Blogotheque in 2006:
If I want to watch a Noah Baumbach film I’m likely to reach for Frances Ha, or Mistress America - I still don’t really understand those people, but they seem more likeable (sometimes) and I find them funnier.
I don’t yet have a DVD of Mistress America (which doesn’t seem to have had a UK release) but Frances Ha will be turning up later in the series.
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 13/018
- Title: The Squid and the Whale
- Notes: Written and directed by Noah Baumbach
- Format: DVD
- There was a digital-only EP that had three tracks from The Squid and the Whale, but that has gone AWOL
Previously in my record collection:
† - and yes, I have been rating films for over 25 years now, I have a spreadsheet of almost 5000 rows - how sad is that!?