the squid and the whale

ok, so last evening after the birthday festivities we sat down to watch the squid and the whale.....without the youngest, as per direction by our eldest that the r rating was there for a reason......as family dysfunction goes, this film couldn't have been a better portrayal...and jeff daniels couldn't have been better at playing a guy you wouldn't have married in the first place let alone stuck with for so long.....what a jerk.....there were some scenes that resonated......like the one where the mom is sneaking stacks of her books under the bed of the youngest boy.....so that the dad couldn't take them ....and the scene with the cat escaping and everybody outside in a panic.....i was secretly pleased that walt seemed to warm back up to his mom after living with his dad......curiously, i felt that we shouldn't be watching....the angst was so palpable and the breach in the relationships so keenly protrayed that it gave me the sense that i was a voyeur and that these folks should close their drapes.....it was almost too much information......will have to watch many more times to catch the nuances, of course......