The Savages
Written/directed by Tamara Jenkins
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney
I was not in the mood for "gentiles with tsouris" cinema when I walked into "The Savages." (For a definition, please see Ang Lee's "The Ice Storm," Lajos Koltai's "Evening," Jim Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers"). I was pleasantly surprised by an excellent character drama-edy about a dysfunctional sibling duo (Linney and Hoffman) forced to feign maturity when their estranged father starts to go off the deep end. Their father has managed to alienate everyone in his life and they are his last kin. But in attempting to tie up loose ends with their pop (shuttle him to the old folks home, assuage his growing dementia), the Savage siblings lives further unravel. Twenty years of emotional baggage (muddled relationships, miscalculated careers, etc) has left them unable to grow up and let go.
But this is a movie about doing the right thing, or at least trying amid difficult circumstances. The Savages, troubled past and current stupors aside, care about one another because they are family. That connection proves to be a catalyst for change and for hope. Each character down to the sleazy adulterer neighbor tries to do better. They are self-aware, self-actualized, but occasionally need a reality check and a little positive reinforcement. In a sense, everyone needs a little parenting.
Backed by great performances by two of the best actors out there (I venture to say Philip Seymour Hoffman has replaced James Brown as the hardest working man in show business), a script that jests as much as it jerks, and a fresh turn on domestic strife and the situation known as growing up, The Savages is easily in the running for one of the best films of '07.
Paired nicely with a bold but sweet house hazelnut coffee from Cafe Gigi's
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