Beyond The Savages

More from Laura Linney

More from Philip Seymour Hoffman

More Comedies from Fox

Stills from The Savages

The Savages

• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
• Charlie Wilson's War (Widescreen)
• Lars and the Real Girl
• There Will Be Blood
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Atonement (Widescreen Edition)
• In the Valley of Elah
• The Kite Runner
• Gone Baby Gone
• Juno (Single-Disc Edition)

The main actor appeared very natural, most of the time, which really made him stand out in sharp contrast with those who think annoying=emoting. The dialogue was hackneyed, cliched, and just awful. It doesn't matter if your heart's in the right place, movie, or if I agree with you. But not this badly-written, ham-handed tripe. Movies should be made about this topic. It's not nice to "savage" such a highly-acclaimed film about such an important, relevant, timely subject. Heh heh. Is this review savage enough for you.

Let this paragraph stand as proof that SAVAGES makes the viewer stupid. Don't preach at me, don't insult my intelligence, don't neglect entertaining me, and don't expect me to fall in line with the film festivals. Can I get that hour of my life back. Are we there yet. Characterization was flat in places and non-existent in others.

In the movie, the death of their father provides a cathartic event that enables both to set their lives on a better course. My one criticism the happy ending tacked on feels false. The movie provides some interesting contrasts between the cookie-cutter sub-division in Sun City Arizona, full of old people whizzing around on golf carts, and gritty, snowy, miserable New York which still feels much more authentic. The nursing home is spartan and the movie is blunt in painting the misery of this kind of old-age and death. They move him from Arizona into a nursing home in Buffalo, New York where the son lives. When the woman he has been living with for the past 20 years suddenly dies, it falls to the borther and sister to care for him.

The father, now demented, still shows flashes of his old temper from time to time but is now just a shadow of his former self, both physically and mentally. Still, this one is worth a look. We're not exactly told how the father treated them when they were young it's hinted at rather than made explicit. That's the human heart of this movie people doing their best, shouldering their responsibilities despite their many flaws. One feels the characters in real life would have struggled on in much the same way as before. They play a brother and sister who shoulder the burden and responsibility of caring for their aged, and once abusive, father in his final weeks. Fine performances by Linney and Seymour-Hoffman are the main attraction is this movie.

Both lead characters are flawed, both failures in their personal lives and in their professions but they stick together even if they don't like each other much.

The nursing home is not exactly a dump but it's not luxurious either. When his girlfriend of 20 years in Arizona dies, his children move him into a nursing home in Buffalo, New York. The movie makes much of the visual difference between the cookie-cutter sub-division in Sun City Arizona, full of old people whizzing around on golf carts, and gritty, snowy, miserable New York which still feels much more authentic.

My one criticism the happy ending tacked on feels terribly false. That's the human heart of this movie people doing their best, shouldering their responsibilities despite their many flaws. The staff is well-meaning for the most part. Both lead characters are flawed, both failures in their personal lives and in their professions but they stick together even if they don't like each other much.

It appears the father abused them as children, although we aren't really told exactly what he did. Fine performances by Linney and Seymour-Hoffman key this story about a brother and sister forced to step in and care for their demented father in his final days. But there's no sugar-coating the horrors of this kind of old-age and death.

She creates a character that we can condone despite her unlikable traits. And then, in another scene where he turns his hearing aid down in order to kill his children's bickering you can see his misery, as if he finally understands what he put his children through now that the tables have turned. As Jon, Hoffman embodies this repressed and lonely man beautifully, giving the audience a glimpse into his soul. Philip Bosco does a fine job never falling into obscurity.

As I watched `The Savages' last night I couldn't help but think that these actors couldn't be better suited for this film. In the end, `The Savages' is a remarkable character study that I think is important for everyone to see, parents and children and siblings, for it gives us all something to contemplate as regards to our dealings with one another. Laura Linney's surprise Oscar nomination is no longer a surprise now that I have seen her remarkable work here. As Wendy she is beautifully uncontrolled. Jon is a college professor who can't seem to get his personal as well as his secular life in order, and Wendy is an aspiring playwright who filters through temp services and steals from the government as a way to make ends meat. He never lets you forget that this film is essentially about him and his impact on his children.

I've always been a fan of her ability to relay humanity within her performances, soaking up every ounce of her naturalness within the film, and this is probably Linney at her most natural. That is really the heart of this story; for it is a story about children and parents reversing roles. They want to be better children than he was a parent, but bitterness and guilt can manipulate your judgment. Their father was abusive and their mother right out abandoned them and so they find themselves middle-aged and dysfunctional. In all honesty it is truly one of the best films I've seen to tackle the parent/child/sibling relationships in quite some time. Wendy and Jon Savage are a unique brand of adult, thanks in large part to their unnatural (or all too natural) upbringing.

This in turn forces Wendy and Jon to both come face to face with their own deficiencies that resulted from the man they are now attempting to care for. The performances by the three leads truly elevate this film, because without their believable conviction the weight of the film could have easily been lost. But this film is so much more than just a mere actor's showcase.

There is nothing fake about this movie, for the actors understand their characters. They are guilty, they are bitter, they are defensive, they are confused; and through it all they become stronger people. It is true that Linney carries this film (Hoffman's performance in `Before the Devil Knows You're Dead' is superior to his performance here) but Hoffman plays off of her brilliantly, and delivers some humanity to his comedy. Laura Linney delivers what may very well be her finest performance to date. When their father Lenny finds himself homeless, Wendy and Jon are then forced to find him ample living arrangements.

Both Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman have this incredibly natural dry wit about them that plays so well with the tightly woven dramedy Tamara Jenkins penned. No, `The Savages' moved me more than many other films this past year. There is a scene in particular where Lenny sits in the car listening to Wendy and Jon argue about him and you can see in his eyes the guilt, as if he's asking himself "did I do this.". This idea is conveyed beautifully as the two children struggle with their treatment of a man who never cared enough about them to try. Every line felt real and connects with the audience as it connects with the actors.

Let's talk for a minute about the perfect actors for the perfect script. She is immature and selfish and manipulative but in an innocent and sympathetic way.

Great acting, excellent script, compelling story and characters, nicely filmed and edited, entertaining AND it has something to say. I'm glad I didn't see this film first in theaters, but now, a year later when I can laugh all the more at the accuracy of its story about wounded adult children struggling to deal with their dying father. Not sweet or bitter, sentimental or tragic, this is the reality that every generation deals with if they live long enough, and I found a lot to make me smile, some sadness, commiseration, and closureI haven't seen anything to compare.