the savages

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-02
Aren't We All 'Savages'?
Writer/director Tamara Jenkins' "The Savages" is one of those rare coming-of-age films that avoids cliches and comes across wholly genuine. Jenkins understands that coming-of-age is not only for the young, bringing out in her characters what the average filmmaker would easily miss. Her directing skill is also profoundly exquisite - she does not merely capture her Oscar-nominated screenplay on celluloid but makes it transcend the screen. No High Definition necessary.

Jon and Wendy Savage, portrayed by the aptly-celebrated Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, are a brother and sister whose vast emotional distance is mirrored by their respective residences in Buffalo, N.Y. and Manhattan. This comfortable disparity is severed, however, when their equally distant father Leonard, played by Philip Bosco, succumbs to dementia brought on by Parkinson's disease soon after his long-time girlfriend passes away. Floating in and out of consciousness, he is no longer able to fend for himself, forcing his children to undertake the difficult task of transporting him from sunny Arizona to frigid Buffalo where they can more optimally watch over him in a private nursing home.

The premise is hardly light, but Jenkins finds humor in the seemingly mundane. Jon is a philosophy professor consistently teaching new ways to open the mind yet could not be more closed-off to any viewpoints other than his own. Wendy divides her time between writing her "subversive, semi-autobiographical" stage play and romping with her neighbor in spite of his being married mostly because she is fond of his dog. Meanwhile, facing the fact that they must care for their father - a father who never truly took care of them - becomes more cumbersome for the duo than they care to admit.

In her third Oscar-nominated performance Linney is fantastic as usual, fully capturing the difficult transition that Wendy has to make not only where her father is concerned but in how she must rescue herself from artistic and personal stagnation. Hoffman also impresses as the more cynical of the duo, wrapped up in collegiate pretense and personal demons. Bosco may have the most work cut out for him, however. Perfectly bringing to light the capricious consciousness that accompanies dementia, he clinches Jenkins' poignant script.

The icicles of New York State reach out and grab the listener as fully as the palm fronds and summer breezes of Arizona with Jenkins behind the lens. A screenwriter with her astute directing skill is a rare commodity, especially in today's fickle industry. The subject matter may run the risk of becoming dour or cloying, but she never allows it to fall into those traps. Interjecting her grave, gripping premise with subtle, wry humor, she makes "The Savages" a true pleasure.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-27
Two great actors in an American classic
I love these two actors, anyway, and this movie would be much duller without them. The subject matter is one which is pretty real to a lot of adults now: dealing with a fragile elder parent, and all the emotions that brings up. There's humor in it, and pathos. I loved it.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-24
Exquisitely nuanced
I put off seeing this for quite a while because I wasn't in the mood for a depressing film about dementia and death. I needn't have -- it's a wonderful film and enjoyable despite the subject matter. The writing and acting are uniformly exquisite; the film is funny without being overtly humorous and moving without being sentimental. The story develops via an episodic, almost poetic structure in which the characters' dysfunctionality and humanity is illustrated not so much through narrative as through beautifully realized individual moments. Many films have a few very subtle and well-realized scenes; this film is so laden with such moments there is scarcely room or necessity for plot development. And though I already admired Phillip Seymour Hoffman, this role certainly made me a confirmed fan.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-22
Well done
You really cannot ask for two better actors than Linney and Hoffman. Even if you think the content is not for you, these two are always wonderful to watch. A sad story, but very real-to-life, The Savages is a great study in family dynamics, growing older and growing more responsible whether you like it or are ready for it or not. Time to step up.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-19
Savagely Depressing
This is not a bad film if you look at it as a piece of film making. The acting is not bad, the directing is not bad and the over all film is not bad. It is also about an important subject. BUT... it is do depressing that I can't think of any reason that I would want to watch it again and if I would have know how depressing it was I wouldn't have watched it in the first place.

Depressing.

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