History Film / TheSquidAndTheWhale

* ParentalNeglect: Bernard and Joan are pretty crappy parents. However, at least Joan kind of made somewhat an attempt. It turns out Bernard didn't really contribute much to his children's lives. Both parents are apathetic about Walt's plagiarism and troubles in school. Most notably, at one point both parents leave the pre-teen Frank at home by himself for three days, where he proceeds to get alcohol poisoning.

* BrokenPedestal: For much of the film, Walt idolizes his father, and completely takes his side in the divorce, often refusing to spend time at his mother's house. Towards the end, he has a change of heart, after a therapy session causes him to realize his father was never around when he was a kid and he finds his father putting the moves on Lili, who he had a crush on.

* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: Somewhere in between. Joan repeatedly cheated on her husband while they were married, which Walt finds unforgivable, and feels that she abandoned her family for this. Walt and Bernard imply she cheated because her husband's career became less successful. Over the course of the movie, it's revealed that Bernard is also a self-centered jerk and neglectful husband who contemplated cheating on his wife as well (though he makes pains to point out he didn't go through with it), making her somewhat more sympathetic although still perhaps not justified.
* JerkAss: Most of the characters, especially Bernard and Joan, are pretty terrible.

* OedipusComplex: Frank hates his father and is very attached to his mother, which disturbingly shades into sexual attraction. Inverted with Walt, who hates his mother and is very loyal to his father -- until his father becomes his sexual rival for Lili.

* SlutShaming: Walt is rather judgemental about his girlfriend's sexuality. He angrily demands information, which he then judges her for, about giving her previous boyfriend a handjob. Later, he gets upset when she expresses interest in having sex with him because she's too aggressive. It's very hypocritical on his part considering he's thinking about cheating on her with Lili, and all the authority figures in his life are telling him he should sleep around.