The Savages (2007)
Director: Tamara Jenkins
Writer: Tamara Jenkins
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Story
Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) is getting too old to be able to take care of himself so his children Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) have to come to help him transition into a nursing home. Jon and Wendy get along about as good as your typical siblings and neither has a good relationship with their father Lenny who was never there for them when they were growing up. The story surrounds the things Jon and Wendy have to do to get Lenny moved into the nursing home and the difficulties the family has getting along with each other.
Everything Else
The Savages was a movie I knew was going to be good just from watching the trailer. There is always the possibility the trailer could be deceiving, but in this case the movie looked good and was even better than I thought it would be. It is another off beat comedy with dry humor and witty jokes throughout.
The directing is somewhat rough, which is clearly the way it is supposed to be. By rough I mean the quality is dark and grainy and looks very down to earth and realistic. It reminds me of Margot at the Wedding in fact with its quick push into the harsh realities of life. Where as with Margot at the Wedding I could not relate to how people acted in it, The Savages seems to truly hit home and comes across as a movie which could easily relate to almost anyone. It is not the wacky over the top characters that provide the comedy as much as it is the situations they find themselves in.
I did find the acting to be perfectly in tune with the mood of the film though. I haven’t seen Laura Linney provide a better performance than this one (also her hair color looks so much more natural in The Savages than other movies like The Truman Show). Linney is emotional and forceful with her delivery of lines and keeps the dialogue moving with Hoffman. Philip Seymour Hoffman of course provides yet another excellent performance and I saw this one right after watching Charlie Wilson’s war where he delivered a great performance as a rather different character. Hoffman is clearly on my list of favorite actors at this point.
The Real Deal
The Savages was a movie much like Wristcutters for me; funny in an offbeat and not so mainstream kind of way. I guess this is why I had not heard about it earlier. The humor in The Savages is similar to the humor you would find in Seinfeld with more of a dark real life tone to it. If you are not in the right mood, The Savages could be a very dreary film about a family that doesn’t get along. Hopefully when you watch it you will be in the right mood for it and enjoy it for all of its comic genius; I know I was.
The Short Version
Raw Score: 834,389
Sharon Movie? No
5/06/2008
The Savages
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5 comments:
Hi Dave -
I had never heard of that movie before, but it does sound intriguing. Plus, I kind of like PSH.
I recently came across a gem called Billy Jack. It sounds about as bad as an opera at Woodstock, so it must be pretty good.
Can you look into this matter?
No doubt I will get on that Billy Jack issue. You should definitely see anything with Philip Seymour Hoffman in it because he is one of those stars that was overlooked for a long time even though he was good in his older stuff too.
What would you suggest for his older stuff? Without researching, I can remember as for back as Patch Adams and Boogie Nights, but other than that, I am drawing a blank.
You know I have to agree with you about PSH being overlooked? I can remember him being in many movies, for instance "The Big Lebowski", where he fit right into the story but did not really jump out at you...How would you compare him to D'onofrio in regards to accepting a role and developing his character?
Saw this in the theater luckily, and it was one of me favorite films from last year. It can be really sad and depressing if you let it, but the message in there is uplifiting. It wasn't quite as much of a comedy as I thought it would be fro the trailer, but the parts that were meant to be funny indeed were, and having two of the best actors around doesn't hurt, either.
If you haven't yet, see Jenkins' first film - Slums of Beverly Hills. Love that movie; great characters abound, and Alan Arkin cracks me up.
Homebrewme -
I always liked Twister, but I have not taken the time to watch it in a long while. He was in Scent of a Woman which was decent, but I don't remember who he was. I had even forgotten he was in The Big Lebowski. Thanks for reminding me.
Fletch -
Thanks for the recommendation of Slums of Beverly Hills. I liked The Savages a lot so I will definitely check it out.
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