Based on the true childhood experiences of director Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale tells the story of a patriarch (Jeff Daniels, Dumb & Dumber, Speed) of an eccentric Brooklyn family who once had been a great novelist, but has settled into a teaching job. When his wife (Laura Linney, Exorcism of Emily Rose, Kinsey) discovers a writing talent of her own, jealousy divides the family, leaving two teenage sons to forge new relationships with their parents. Linney's character begins dating her younger son's tennis coach (William Baldwin, Backdraft, Flatliners). Meanwhile, Daniels' character has an affair with the student (Anna Paquin, X-Men, Almost Famous) his older son is pursuing.
