Customer Rating:  
Summary: Well-acted and very human
Comment: Fine performances by Linney and Seymour-Hoffman are the main attraction is this movie. 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.
We're not exactly told how the father treated them when they were young -- it's hinted at rather than made explicit. 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. 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. They move him from Arizona into a nursing home in Buffalo, New York where the son lives.
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.
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. That's the human heart of this movie -- people doing their best, shouldering their responsibilities despite their many flaws.
My one criticism -- the happy ending tacked on feels false. One feels the characters in real life would have struggled on in much the same way as before. In the movie, the death of their father provides a cathartic event that enables both to set their lives on a better course.
Still, this one is worth a look.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fine acting, very human
Comment: 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. It appears the father abused them as children, although we aren't really told exactly what he did. 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.
The nursing home is not exactly a dump but it's not luxurious either. The staff is well-meaning for the most part. But there's no sugar-coating the horrors of this kind of old-age and death.
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. That's the human heart of this movie -- people doing their best, shouldering their responsibilities despite their many flaws.
My one criticism -- the happy ending tacked on feels terribly false.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Every aspect of this film fits like a glove...
Comment: Let's talk for a minute about the perfect actors for the perfect script. As I watched `The Savages' last night I couldn't help but think that these actors couldn't be better suited for this film. 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. Every line felt real and connects with the audience as it connects with the actors. There is nothing fake about this movie, for the actors understand their characters.
But this film is so much more than just a mere actor's showcase. No, `The Savages' moved me more than many other films this past year. 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. Their father was abusive and their mother right out abandoned them and so they find themselves middle-aged and dysfunctional. 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. When their father Lenny finds himself homeless, Wendy and Jon are then forced to find him ample living arrangements. 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. They are guilty, they are bitter, they are defensive, they are confused; and through it all they become stronger people.
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. Laura Linney delivers what may very well be her finest performance to date. As Wendy she is beautifully uncontrolled. She is immature and selfish and manipulative but in an innocent and sympathetic way. She creates a character that we can condone despite her unlikable traits. As Jon, Hoffman embodies this repressed and lonely man beautifully, giving the audience a glimpse into his soul. 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. Philip Bosco does a fine job never falling into obscurity. He never lets you forget that this film is essentially about him and his impact on his children. 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?". 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.
That is really the heart of this story; for it is a story about children and parents reversing roles. This idea is conveyed beautifully as the two children struggle with their treatment of a man who never cared enough about them to try. They want to be better children than he was a parent, but bitterness and guilt can manipulate your judgment.
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. 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a timely story--I loved it
Comment: 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. Great acting, excellent script, compelling story and characters, nicely filmed and edited, entertaining AND it has something to say. 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 closure--I haven't seen anything to compare.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A poignant film
Comment: We acquired The Savages because of the caliber of actors, thinking all along that it was a comedy. As soon as the movie started, we realized we were in for a surprise for the plot centers around rather serious issues that many family members confront:
1. Death of parents
2. Responsibility to elders
3. Serious illness
4. A demented parent
5. Placement of a loved one in the care of others
6. The quality of care provided for the elderly
It is difficult to express the feelings surfaced by The Savages as we witnessed brother and sister trying to care for a father, diagnosed with dementia, who failed to be loving or caring to them. The father is alone because his life partner dies and her children don't want the responsibility of caring or providing shelter for him.
From the outset, the movie will shock viewers with the crude reality of mental health issues confronted by the unfortunate individuals who suffer dementia. The acting is superb. Wendy, played by Laura Linney is the lonely play writer sister who has terrible relationships because she does not want the commitment to developing a family of her own. Jon, masterfully played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, is the brother who also can't commit to a relationship, living in an apartment that is so cluttered that when his sister visits and he offers the couch, which is covered with magazines and school papers, we hear her cynical comment: "what couch?"
The range of emotions displayed brought us to laughter, being upset, understanding the guilt and anger felt by the siblings, empathy and finally we were happy to see the transformation, the catharsis experienced by the family members as they learn much about themselves from the experiences shared.
Not an easy movie to watch, but an excellent view as to real human drama. A poignant film, don't miss it!
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