“I’m not a philistine.”
synopsis
Two teenage boys navigate their parents’ bitter Brooklyn divorce in the 1980s. Their father, a once-promising novelist, clings to intellectual superiority while their mother’s success begins to eclipse his. The children absorb the fallout — loyalties split, identities distorted.
pairs well with ...
mini-review
This isn’t about the marriage. It’s about the collateral damage.
Baumbach presents divorce as a slow emotional poisoning — especially for kids trying to model themselves after deeply flawed adults. Jeff Daniels is brilliantly insufferable: arrogant, insecure, and painfully human.
It’s funny in the driest possible way. But underneath the wit is a brutal observation: children don’t just witness divorce. They inherit it.
A cynical mood
Reflecting on adolescence
Remembering that your parents were just people
Absurdist's Corner
Two adults implode. The kids start quoting Kafka to cope.
fun facts
Loosely based on Baumbach’s own childhood.
Shot on a modest budget in Brooklyn.
Helped launch Jesse Eisenberg’s career.