The Savages Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.
| Laura Linney | Wendy Savage |
| Philip Seymour Hoffman | Jon Savage |
| Philip Bosco | Lenny Savage |
| Peter Friedman | Larry |
| David Zayas | Eduardo |
| Gbenga Akinnagbe | Jimmy |
| Cara Seymour | Kasia |
| Tonye Patano | Ms. Robinson |
| Guy Boyd | Bill Lachman |
| Debra Monk | Nancy Lachman |
| Rosemary Murphy | Doris Metzger |
| Hal Blankenship | Burt |
| Joan Jaffe | Lizzie |
| Sage Kirkpatrick | Real Estate Agent |
| Salem Ludwig | Mr. Sperry |
| Tamara Jenkins |
8.20 out of 10 (321 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Capturing the Drama of Our Everyday Simple Existence
posted on 23 Jul 2009How we all come to grips with our mortality is often previewed in how we manage the care of our elders. When that elder care is focused on a parent, as it is in Tamara Jenkins's brilliant film THE SAVAGES, it not only strikes chords with individual philosophies, but is also reveals the intricacies of family relationships that come into play in coping with the final days of a parent's life. Though there is little story to this film, this is a character study about isolation, loneliness, and need that will touch the hearts of sensitive viewers. Wendy Savage (Laura Linney) is a frustrated unpublished playwright working as a temp, a bright woman whose insecurities limit her emotional activity to an affair with a 'safe' married man Larry (Peter Friedman). Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman), her older brother, is a professor of philosophy who is writing a book on the theater of the absurd of Bertolt Brecht while living in Buffalo with a Polish woman, Kasia (Cara Seymour), who, because Jon does not wish to commit to marriage, is forcing his only emotional tie to return to Poland when her Visa expires. Wendy and Jon were deserted by their mother at an early age, left in the care of their abusive father Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco), and both siblings have distanced themselves from their father now living in Sun City, Arizona with his girlfriend of twenty years. Lenny's girlfriend dies and the signs of Lenny's rapidly encroaching dementia force Wendy and Jon to fly to Arizona to 'make arrangements' for their demented father. Coming together under duress the two siblings are forced to confront their own frustrations together with the realities of placing Lenny in a nursing home. Lenny is moved from Arizona to Buffalo, NY and the manner in which Jon and Wendy cope with the new 'family' arrangement raises problems of guilt, memories of their childhood, resentment, and ultimately the manner in which they continue with their lives. The film could have easily become a diatribe against current nursing home conditions, but instead Jenkins through her superb script and direction levels the playing field, allowing the family frustrations to play out in equal time with the vantage of the caregivers (well played by David Zayas, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Margo Martindale, Tonye Patano, Nancy Lenehan, Tijuana Ricks, and others). But the real power of this film comes from the bravura performances by Linney, Hoffman, and Bosco. These three actors can do more with silences and facial and body expressions that just about anyone on the screens today. Watching these gifted actors at their trade makes for a stunning film experience and one that shakes us all a bit to think about things we don't wish to consider - death, care of the elderly, and finding life in a world that usually runs a bit on the crazy side. Highly recommended. Grady Harp
Disappointing Story
posted on 09 Jul 2009Jon (Hoffman) and his sister Wendy (Linney) are forced to take care of their aging father (Bosco) who has dementia.If you plan on living forever, in good health – of course - and with a lot of money, you don't need to watch this movie and maybe ask yourself a few questions. But, if you live on this planet, then you may need to consider, if the situation applies, how you will care for your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts etc, if no provisions have been made for them when they become needy from Dementia, Parkinson's, or a stroke. And, and, and, you are………….. available.I was disappointed in that I thought this movie would show the trials, tribulations, anguish, worry, ups and downs in general for all parties when someone needed 24/7 care. This is not the case here. This movie starts out really good and we see many of the pitfalls that will present themselves to the caregivers. But, Jon and Wendy are not caregivers (HA! They can barely take care of themselves, and they have issues. Oh, boy!) and they remedy their situation by putting the father in a nursing home and visit him on a regular basis. This is fine, if the money is there. I thought the movie would take a different turn whereby the father would live with one or both of them and then LET THE GAMES BEGIN! (But, they work, Bob, how can they do that? They are not rich.) Okay, I was wrong and they did get thru the ordeal, with the father, of whether or not to pull the plug when the time comes and the burial. The father seemed more accepting of those things than they were. Yes, these things are not easy to talk about. For their situation, they did the right thing, but then we got caught up in their lives when the father was neatly tucked away in a nursing home; and their lives were not all that interesting and it became all about them and as far as I was concerned there was no story with these two. So I was somewhat disappointed with this turn of events. And, I thought we had something here. Apparently not. The performances by all were outstanding. It was the story itself I found disappointing however, maybe we can call it a good first step.Regardless of how you view the movie you should start asking yourselves if you could take care of another person on a 24/7 basis. And, let's go one step further: who will take care of you when the time comes? Let's just assume you are still living on this planet and won't live forever.........Violence: Not really, the father gets angry and attacks someone. Sex: Yes, Nudity: No, Language: Yes
Not-so-noble Savages
posted on 07 Jul 2009Another award season favorite that didn't seem to want to matriculate its way toward the hinterlands of America(where I'm at),I was intrigued by this movie and got a chance to watch it the other day on DVD. For the most part,I'm very glad I did.New Yorkers--well,okay,one's in NYC,the other in Buffalo--Wendy(Laura Linney,kicking serious A as a flawed and clumsy character)and Jon SAvage(Philip Seymour Hoffman,mostly low-key here,but still invaluable)learn upon their father's misbehavior at an idyllic retirement community in Arizona. To make matters worse,his common-law girlfriend and fellow retiree dies leaving him alone in a house that legally isn't really his. The brother and sister take action and take dad with them back up north to find a place for him,in the process reacquainting with each other,which is neither particularly smooth nor completely unrewarding.If the previous synopsis sounds trite,clichéd or even something straight out of a high concept t.v. sitcom,well,don't be fooled:this movie is much more than it's principals or plot would suggest. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins uses dry,somewhat average characters and conventional storyline to create a movie that is neither overly sad or overly funny and allows the actors involved to be able to flex their emotional range,particularly that of longtime character actor Philip Bosco as the Savages' dad. The lack of inertia in this movie added to the muffled/drowning sound editing and tracking may threaten to unnerve some viewers,but taken as a real workshop for actors(getting to portray very flawed people)and this movie and story has a quiet,humble charm about it. Fans of Linney and Hoffman will particularly warm up to this,as I suppose I am and did.
A moving story
posted on 23 Jun 2009Meet the Savages: Wendy, John, and Lenny. Wendy and John are siblings, though rarely see each other and Lenny is their father, abusive in their childhood and now dying with dementia in their adult years. Because of heightening complications, Wendy and John are forced to personally attend to the needs of their dying father. This does not come at a good time since they already had problems of their own. John has been trying to get his career to take off with a book and has issues with his girlfriend. Wendy is dealing with work shortages, an affair with a married man, trying to get her own play off the ground, and now her father is dying - something that she can't get fully realistic about.The Savages is just a well-made film. Tamara Jenkins both wrote and directed the film, and organizes and executes The Savages with great precision with her spot-on direction and great script that is both funny and heartbreaking. Stephen Trask also writes a good score for the film that's both uplifting and meditative and cinematographer W. Mott Hupfel lights the film well. The cast are all great in their roles. Laura Linney is at the top of game in this Oscar-nominated performance as Wendy, exerting plenty of emotion throughout the film. Philip Seymour Hoffman is also fantastic as John. Hoffman's performance is more subtle and soft than the others in the film, and he's very funny as well, much of the comedy coming from the expressions on his face. Linney and Hoffman work very well on screen together, and it's interesting to see how their characters handle taking care of a deadbeat father that hardly took care of them and how they interact with each other as the film progresses. Philip Bosco finishes off the major members of the cast with an outstanding performance as Lenny Savage, Wendy & John's dementia-plagued father. Watching Bosco play this elderly man who is drifting farther and farther away from the here and now is something to see. The Savages is a good and moving film that deals with something most have to go through: taking care of our parents when they can't take care of themselves. Whether you are currently going through this experience, have already gone through this experience, or will be going through this experience, The Savages is a very real and moving film.
The Savages
posted on 09 Jun 2009This drama slash comedy indie film is a great film to see. The film has to do with a real life problem that everyone has gone through or will go through. Discussing what to do with a loved one when they are of old age. The two children of the film which are Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are sister and brother who have to make a decision about there old father who was never really in their lives. The father was played by Philip Bosco. The film tackles the awkward feeling of putting a loved one in an old folks home and how the daughter and son deal with it even though they weren't close with the father. The daughter (Laura Linney) also has problems with her life which is not knowing what step to take in life. She puts herself in a meaningless sexual relationship that she knows is going nowhere and she also has problems at work. The son (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is an unmarried 44 year old. While dealing with their own problems they have to deal with their old father who is dieing. All these characters are all so different and live in different places and the only thing that brings them together is blood. The films theme is about taking care of family. The film also makes a big point about old folks homes, which is saying that the way they look on the outside and all the commercials showing old people how much it is fun, it is really covering up the sad truth that people go there and die. The film shows the real old folks home and how the characters choose and deal with it.
very well made human drama - highly recommend it
posted on 07 Jun 2009There is not a whole lot of "story" here - just a very true-to-life study of very human, very flawed people dealing with a family crisis, i.e. the debilitation of their father. Wendy and John Savage are siblings who have been none too close over the years and who were largely abandoned by their cruel father, who left them to shack up with another woman on the opposite coast. When they receive word that dad's housemate has died and dad is entering into dementia, they must face how they are going to deal with the situation, and with their very conflicted feelings toward him and each other. Again, "plot" is not the point here; we have instead a very richly textured portrait of human interrelationship, of striving and failing, of bitterness and underlying familial devotion. The movie completely held my interest through a combination of an excellent script and fine acting by all involved. It sounds like a downer (hey, not every movie can be Mary Poppins) but in the end it is uplifting, as Wendy and John discover new strengths in themselves through the experience.
Another great indie 'dramedy'.
posted on 05 Jun 2009Before watching 'The Savages' I had expectations, and that's because of the high standard quality of the American indie-genre, and because of the incredibly high standard of the great Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film feels carefully nuanced from the glowing opening scene in Sun City where Lenny Savage is in the early phases of dementia to the messy lives of the two siblings, Wendy and Jon, living in different New York City areas, both drowning in a confused if failing theater-drama interest.Laura Linney received a Academy Award-nomination for her turn as Wendy Savage, a woman so in fear of the midlife-crisis-cliché that she feels more in touch with her married boyfriend's dog. Her emotional turbulence feels quirky, just as in real life, and her determination of placing the estranging dad in a place not called nursing home feels like a curtain-closing of the life that she doesn't entirely embrace. This is the life her brother, Jon Savage (another brilliant performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman), so harshly describes to her as a fu**ing horror show. He never finishes his great book about Brecht, and whether it's not marrying his polish girlfriend or it's crying over his breakfast-eggs, Jon seems cynical, worn-out and blackened. It's in-between these two we find the heart of the film; their relationship developing through exactly their father's illness.Tamara Jenkins dearly directs her three main characters and creates one of the finest films of 2007.
Great
posted on 05 Jun 2009Great film, the opening scene alone is worth the ticket price. It is so touchingly real; funny as hell and heartbreaking at the same moment. Both Miss. Liney and Mr. Hoffman are marvelous and such a lovely surprise to see Rosemary Murphy (love her), albeit too brief. I have been enduring aging relatives as well as family friends since childhood. It was not at all unusual for my parents to take us to see folks in the "home" on Sunday afternoons as well as weekdays if we were out of school. So, this film brought a lot of truths in my experience. It also made me even more grateful my own father passed peacefully at home during an afternoon nap. See this film! Peace,Love,Later. Tracy Hamblen
Good movie -- not a comedy
posted on 26 May 2009The movie makers are doing themselves a disservice by allowing this film to be marketed as a comedy. "The Savages" is most definitely not "Little Miss Sunshine." Why market something as a comedy if you are just going to alienate segments of the audience? This was a sensitive, nuanced movie on a serious subject. All four of us found the acting superlative and thought that the achingly neurotic characters were easy to relate to. I agree with the reviewer who suggested that a new award -- Actor of the Year -- be established for Philip Seymour Hoffman.The nursing home where Lennie spent his final days was not fancy, but it actually seemed to provide decent service. It looked clean; it offered wheelchair exercise; the aides we saw were conscientious and friendly. The family could have done a lot worse !!!Concerning the plot: I am a little incredulous that two adults would drop everything for an aging father who was evidently neglectful and/or abusive to them, but, once you suspend that disbelief, the rest of the plot is quite believable. I wonder if some of the background information was left on the cutting-room floor.Also, I suspect the writer had to be strong-armed into allowing those cheap shots of fat and old people in ridiculous clothes, especially in the scenes of Arizona. Somebody thought old people in shorts are good for a laugh. I do not think it was the original scriptwriter.
One of the most real, true-to-life family dramas I've ever seen
posted on 24 May 2009Films rarely capture real life, relatable moments, let alone with any kind of regularity, but Tamara Jenkins' "The Savages" does it. The terrific script is brought to life by really two of the greatest actors working today in Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman. "Savages" is a deeply human drama that focuses on one of the more difficult aspects of aging and family, but with a natural sense of humor all the same. But it's not devoid of any artistic touch either. Jenkins puts some serious thought into her directing and like most (good) films written and directed by the same person, even the smallest of ideas and themes come out of this film.Linney and Hoffman play two middle aged siblings (Wendy and Jon) who had little to no parental influence in their lives, so when they find that their father, who has been on the other side of the country for over twenty years with a woman that wasn't their mother, is suffering from dementia, they must find a new living situation for him. The drama centers around these two sibling who are struggling enough to find direction in their own lives, let alone being able to help their estranged father. Their relationship is touching and so profoundly real on screen in a way that only these two incredible actors could do. Honestly, there are few better real-life and also versatile actors working right now.Jenkins deserves the applause too, however. In addition to a scarily real script, she adds several touches to the film itself with her directing, playing a lot with the rhythm of the film, speeding certain parts up for dramatic effect and slowing others down to elicit more reflection from the viewer. The film does feel long for only being a couple hours, but it's not enough to really hurt the honesty and truthfulness of this film.Even for those that can't directly relate to having to make important decisions for a parent who can no longer make them for themselves, this film finds great poignancy. The entry point is with the protagonists as we relate to their busy and unfruitful lives and contemplate how we would respond in their situation. Wendy is the more emotional one who feels guilty while Jon is more level-headed and practical about it. It's a great dynamic and one which both actors thrive with.This is one of those family, life-like dramas that really hits it on the head with a particular aspect of life at its most relatable. It even uses the fact that Wendy wants to stage a play based on her childhood and relationship with her father to have Jenkins state her concern as to whether the film comes across as "middle class whining." The answer is that it doesn't. The struggles in these characters' lives are too real and founded in the natural truth about relationships.
McCheesy's take on "The Savages"
posted on 06 May 2009The Savages yet another underrated film, is arguably one of 2007's fine films.Everything in it is perfect, the direction by Tamara Jenkins is gold. The acting is just wow. Laura Linney deserved her Oscar nom but Marion Cotillard deserved it better. She plays Wendy Savage, a girl who has an affair with an older guy to have a healthy sexual life. Philip Seymour Hoffman on the other hand is just as good. He plays Jon Savage, a college professor who is reluctant in taking care of his ailing father. His performance is in top shape and I haven't had the slightest idea why he didn't get the much praise he deserved in this film. He was darn good.The script was also excellent. It was dark, moody, grim and it shows you the reality of taking responsibility for one thing. Like it or not, your family stays with you until the end.The film was genuine, honest and not too Hollywood-ish.9.
Long, sad film.
posted on 20 Apr 2009I am at a loss as to what to say about this movie. I feel like an old man with a blinded in the headlight stare. No, that's not it. I feel like I'm stuck in a middle-age rut. No, that's not it either. I feel like my ficus plant has died and it's not my fault. No? How about this: My dad treated me terribly, but at least he didn't completely abandon me like my mom. My sister is a liar who needs a good chewing out. My brother is a self-absorbed slob. My girlfriend's visa has expired. My cat is stuck under the couch. My dog is getting old. Sex has lost all excitement.I was forewarned that this film would be depressing, but even a sad film, if it brings you to tears or thoughts too deep for tears, can have merit. But this one never did it for me. For a better institution film, see Diving Bell and the Butterfly. For better old age moments, see Albert Finney in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. For a better father-daughter movie, see Sweeney Todd. And if death and dying is your thing, check out No Country for Old Men.I was also lured in on the premise that at least this film would have good acting. Except that it didn't, really. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, consistently a good chameleon actor, was better this year in both Charlie Wilson's War and Before the Devil; he made the most of a couple of scenes in this film, but overall he never really got to show the full shades of his character. Meanwhile, Laura Linney's performance was only slightly less shallow than the way her character was written: one should have plenty to work with in a pill-popping, confidence-lacking, lonely hearted guilt-ridden daughter/sister/mistress, but between the writing and the acting her character was still pretty sketchy.Finally, the director chose a plodding pace to get us to the inevitable end. All right, I did not really expect the final final ending, but that was still a small payoff for a long movie.
Excellent Movie
posted on 18 Apr 2009I would say this is one of the most underrated movies of 2007.This movie has it all,acting,directing,comedy,true life etc.So many of us baby boomers can really identify with this movie and what the characters are going through.I had the opportunity of seeing this movie at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2007,and when the tickets went on sale to the public for the two showings they were both sold out within 30 minutes.This is a must see movie that just doesn't get the ravings that so many other movies are getting.Now that it has had two nominations for this year's Academy Awards let's hope that it gets its rightful recognition.
A Much Better Than Average Savage
posted on 10 Apr 2009In the coming days I want to recap the films of 2007. In the past I've always gone off on how American Cinema has been garbage since the 1970's and until 2007 I think I had a case. You can't deny the 70's birthed the careers of many great filmmakers: Scorsese, Coppola, Rafelson, Penn, Spielberg...to name a few. Many of the films were masterpieces, including personal favorites such as: 2 Lane Blacktop, Mean Streets, The Conversation, Jaws, 5 Easy Pieces, Alien, Deadhead Miles, Days of Heaven and so on and so on. Perhaps it was the acid rain in the water, Watergate, the oil crisis or any number of other societal ills that paved the way for a decade of dark, powerful and exciting films; perhaps the planets were aligned.Today, things are as fu##ed up as I can remember. I don't really remember the 70's as being fu##ed up because I was a little kid. I had Star Wars, Battlestar Gallactica, Evel Knievel, an Atari 2600 and all the time in the world. I was king of my world and despite over-my-head political references splattered across the pages of Mad Magazine, I laughed at Spy vs. Spy and toiled over what seemed like impossible fold-ins on the back cover page. Unfortunately I'm not a kid anymore. The world is shi#, gas is a rip-off and the White House is occupied by bigger cu##s than we will ever know. Perhaps the planets have re-aligned.Off the top of my head I can rattle off at least 20 films that I loved this past year. Many I consider instant masterpieces and I've obsessively watched them over and over again: No Country for Old Men, There Will be Blood, Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, etc. Simply put, no year in my short life has ever produced such a crop of brilliant films both in the mainstream and in the indy world (if such a world truly exists). I might get around to itemizing and qualifying my favorites from this past year, but it'll take a while since there were enough docs alone worthy of making up a top 10 list.As of last week, I thought I'd seen the best films of the past year. One film I hadn't gotten around to watching was The Savages. I had heard Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney's performances were great but that the film itself was just OK. I thought: PSH and LL are always great, so big deal...right? The Savages is much better than an "OK" film with great performances. This is a beautifully written character study dealing with the biggest of big issues: getting old and dying.I had to watch this film in two sessions because the pit it put in my stomach was, at first, too much to bear. My parents being relatively young and healthy, I had never given thought to how hard it is going to be to deal with them losing their minds and their health due to aging. When your mind turns to mush and your a$$ has to be wiped by your kids, you can't feel anything but humiliated in the cruelest of ways (conclusive proof that if there really was an anthropomorphic God, then he/she really is a complete prick).The writer/director Tamara Jenkins deserves most of the credit here since she has created a complex film where everyone is equally portrayed as a victim, vulnerable, weak, emotionally complex and struggling to find peace. Even the bitter, senile father is revealed to have been the product of his own parents failings, drawing a parallel between himself and his own children who are, in many ways, themselves crippled by the scars of their dysfunctional upbringing at his hands.What The Savages reveals on a subtle level is how when we become the caretakers of those who once took care of us, we are forced to embrace the reality that our parents are just as flawed as us. They too carry with them baggage of parental resentment and blame. In the end, no amount of finger pointing can help us cope with deep rooted issues; in the end compassion and empathy is what will free us from our dysfunction. The Savages is an incredibly rewarding, bittersweet experience where the comedy rings painfully true and the melancholy blankets you with a profound sadness.http://eattheblinds.blogspot.com/
Best independent film of 2007!
posted on 02 Apr 2009The Savages (2007) was written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. Jenkins gets everything right in this film about three family members who barely connect with each other. Laura Linney plays Wendy Savage--a NYC playwright who works as a temp and waits for an artistic breakthrough. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays her brother Jon, who teaches drama at a college in Buffalo. Although the siblings aren't particularly hostile towards each other, they clearly don't have a close or affectionate relationship. A health crisis makes it necessary for the two to travel to Sun City, Arizona, to care for their father. We only see Lenny Savage as an old man with dementia. He's not exactly a warm and loving person as the film opens. Moreover, we learn that he wasn't a great parent before the dementia, either. Both his son and his daughter don't keep in touch with him, nor he with them. Now they have to deal with a crisis that forces them together. Hoffman and Linney are two of he finest actors on the screen today, and, when they play off against each other, the result is movie magic. Everything rings true--their love/hate relationship, their professional jealousy, and their disapproval of each other's love life. They aren't exactly the two people best suited to make life and death decisions about their father, but that's the reality they face, and they have to deal with it as best they can.I've written almost 200 reviews for IMDb, and I've never even considered mentioning the casting director. This review is the exception. My compliments to Jeanne McCarthy, who has filled this movie with an extraordinary set of actors in small roles. Everyone Wendy and Jon meet looks right for the role--nurses, psychologists, administrators, aides, students, etc., etc. It would be worth seeing the movie again just to watch the actors who aren't stars. There's also an excellent supporting actor. Peter Friedman plays Larry, the married man with whom Wendy is having an affair. Their scene in a motel room is short but both powerful and poignant. (Actually, every scene in which Linney appears is powerful and poignant, but Friedman holds his own in this one.)We saw the movie in a theater, but an intimate film of this type should do well on DVD. Incidentally, most of the movie takes place in Buffalo, New York, and director Jenkins obviously has a real feel for the city and its people.This may be the best independent film of 2007. Don't miss it!
When children become the parents
posted on 01 Mar 2009As we move ever further into the 21st Century, more and more Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers are finding themselves thrust into the role of primary caregiver to their ailing and aging parents. Such a situation is challenging enough even under the best of circumstances, but what if the person who needs taking care of was never a loving and nurturing parent to begin with, or the middle-aged child has more than enough problems on his own plate to deal with? This is the dilemma faced by John and Wendy Savage, a brother and sister who have long been estranged from the father who left them when they were youngsters but who has now come back into their lives after he can no longer take care of himself. Despite the fact that the siblings feel little emotional attachment to their father, they agree to do the decent thing by caring for him in his final days, even though his dementia makes it nearly impossible for them to heal old wounds or build a filial bridge between them.Meanwhile, John and Wendy, both unmarried and childless, aren't exactly what one would call models of highly functional and successful adults in their own right. John is a theater professor and part-time author who lives in a shabby Buffalo apartment with a girl from Poland who is being deported because John, commitment-phobic that he is, can't bring himself to marry her. Wendy is an unsuccessful playwright who pays the bills with temp jobs and has been carrying on a dead-end affair with a married man for years."The Savages" works on a dual level, exposing the grim realities of aging, while at the same time exploring the complexities of familial (i.e. parent-child and sibling) relationships. The strain on everyone caught in this type of a predicament can be devastating and overwhelming, and writer/director Tamara Jenkins examines the situation from all angles. John and Wendy have an understandable urge to live their own lives, and they feel ill-equipped to cope with this new burden that has been suddenly placed upon them. The situation also opens up old wounds related to their upbringing and heightens their own feelings of inadequacy and failure. John and Wendy are also not above turning against one another when the world gets to be a bit too much for them to handle, wounding each other with verbal thrusts and jabs carefully aimed at their various weaknesses and vulnerabilities.The subject matter is obviously dark and brooding, but the filmmakers inject a surprising amount of biting, whistling-past-the-graveyard humor to help lighten the load. They are also helped in this regard by the rich and engaging performances of its three leading actors. Philip Seymour Hoffman is remarkably quiet and subdued in his role of John, the more cynical of the two children who feels a little less guilt-ridden about doing the minimum for a man who never took on the very role of paternal caregiver to his children that they are assuming for him. As the father, Philip Bosco rises to the difficult challenge of portraying a man who's lost much of his ability to connect with the world around him. But it is Laura Linney who provides the warm human center that lifts the movie above the dreary nature of its material. It is Wendy who struggles most with doing what is right by trying to make the last days of a man who abandoned her as comfortable as possible. In her every word and gesture, Linney shows that she understands the paradoxical nature of the character she is being called on to play, revealing her weaknesses and vulnerabilities, while, at the same time, showing her to be a woman of strength and character, even if she has trouble displaying much of either of those qualities in her own life. In fact, we sense that Wendy does quite a bit of growing up in the course of her struggles. Wendy may hate her father for never being there for her and her brother, but she knows maturity means moving beyond one's bitterness over the past and responding to the basic humanity of even the most undeserving among us.What I like about "The Savages" is that it doesn't devolve into angst-ridden hand-wringing or self-aggrandizing melodramatics in dealing with its topic. Instead, in this her fifth film as a director, Jenkins illuminates a difficult subject with subtlety, insight and compassion. Definitely one worth seeing.
Like life
posted on 23 Feb 2009This film has a soft quality to it, like that of when one takes a pain killer amidst his day to day troubles. Great performances as expected by our two main actors. Its a tight film too, remains faithful to its concept. If I did not give it a higher rating its due to the lack of originality really, the end is just so plain and obvious. It has this hey what do you wanna do thats life and this is New York, you move on. Actually the most impressive role is that of the father from the beginning to the end he is the star if you ask me. I like the issues of projection regarding the two siblings. And like in life we laugh and cry almost simultaneously, well inside. Many films have been made like this, I don't know how true it is that this has what it takes to start a new genre, the coming of middle age story. Except for the fact that these two are plucked out of their separate unsettled lives to take care of their parent who never really cared for them.
Watchable enough, but could have hit harder.
posted on 03 Feb 2009After all the 5 star reviews, I found this movie disappointing, on two counts. Firstly, the story just wasn't very interesting. The attempt to liven it up with subplots didn't succeed, and I found it boring and tedious. Secondly, as an effort in portraying the problems inherent in dealing with an aged parent for whom home-care is not possible and for whom encroaching dementia renders them difficult to deal with, this was a pretty lame, over-glossed attempt. The story of my mother-in-law would have been a much more realistic and dramatically interesting tale - firstly driving her old husband to kill himself, then throwing up every barrier possible to her family's attempts to get the vindictive old cow into first, a retirement village where the neighbours eventually ganged together to force her out, then into a nursing home with all the attendant machinations and rip-offs that can accompany such endeavours.Not that the film was all bad. Anything with Laura Linney is worth watching, and while I'm more ambivalent about Hoffman, he was brilliant in "Charlie Wilson's War" and he's good in this. His comment on all nursing homes being houses of horrors was perceptively true, given our own experiences.An OK movie that could have been a lot more riveting and hard-hitting - a 6/10.
Laura Linney Delivers One of the Year's Best Performances
posted on 03 Feb 2009Laura Linney delivers one of THE performances of the year as Wendy Savage, a struggling playwright who must step in and take care of an ailing father who she hasn't seen in years, in Tamara Jenkins' lovely, sad film "The Savages." She's helped somewhat by her brother, a professor of theatre played wonderfully (of course) by Philip Seymour Hoffman. But this is Linney's show. The point of view is Wendy's, and the movie is really more about how the crisis serves as a catalyst for enabling Wendy to get her life together than it is about her relationship with her brother or father."The Savages" perfectly nails the family dynamics of this particular clan. The mother is out of the picture, and Wendy, though not naturally a mothering type, can't help but take that role with her dad, even though he's been a complete jerk or has been missing altogether from her life. Her brother has a different relationship with the dad; he suffered physical abuse at the hands of his father, and his care is perfunctory. He wants to provide the basics, but feels little further obligation. The movie doesn't judge him for this, and there isn't a warm fuzzy scene at the end where he is able to put his baggage behind him. Philip Bosco plays the dad, and his is a heartbreaking depiction of a man regressing back to infancy, forced to wear diapers and throwing tantrums when he doesn't know how else to communicate.Tamara Jenkins has written a bracing and honest screenplay. ***SPOILERS AHEAD**** I love that the father dies before either daughter or son is able to make things right with him or with themselves, but they're able to move on nonetheless and grow in positive ways from what they learn. The film is a master class in tremendous acting, and it's one of the best movies I've seen this year.Grade: A
One of the most authentic, relatable comedies I've ever seen.
posted on 16 Aug 2009A very cute little film that does drag a bit every so often, but it's complete authenticity and ingenious leading performances make it an underrated gem. It really is that authentic feeling of emotion between Wendy and Jon that made the film so compelling. I feel that Jon Savage is one of the most relatable characters in film history for myself, and his love/hate relationship with Wendy felt exactly like the one between my sister and I; I could see us having those same conversations in 25 years. My similarities with him extended so far that it became almost eerie how much of myself I saw in him. The film also thrives on it's awkward silences and delectably dry humor, which I adored and found myself in stitches at the most seemingly inappropriate of times. The performances from Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman are exceptional and rank among the best of the year. They both felt so natural and real in these roles that I forgot they were acting. Like I said it can get pretty dreary at times and I was a little let-down by Bosco's average performance but aside from that it's a wonderful, authentic comedy that I found very enjoyable. The ending is one of the most uplifting and smile-inducing of recent years.