The Savages was a movie that came out in 2007, starring Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, two of my favorite actors. The title was useful on two levels, both in describing the characters themselves, but also because it was the characters' actual names, as Wendy and Jon Savage, respectively.
I believe that it is highly unlikely that more than of 2 of my fellow classmates (if any) have seen this film. The story was one of the oddest movies I have ever seen, playing upon many levels of emotion and having many layers of complexity to show the difficulty of the decision that the two siblings have to make. The two siblings are met with the tough choice of what to do with their father who is slipping into the depths of dementia. Although they were never close to their father, they feel that they must do their best to help him. Tensions arises as the two of them have differing beliefs on the best path to take to help their ailing father.
Since they are both struggling writers, going after the same grant, they each have a rivalry against the other trying to gain the grant. Through all this, each deals with their own troubles, ranging from depression and anxiety, to an injured neck. The story ranges everyone from sad and depressing, to funny, to sickening, to everywhere in between. The story becomes so depressing at a point that, Wendy Savage actually steals painkillers from a dead woman to steal her pain. When her brother finds them, he asks, "Did you take these from that dead woman?" Now after this we would expect him to yell at her and tell her how inappropriately she acted but instead his response is, "Do they work?" and he immediately takes two when she says that they do.
That kind of humor, feeling of being pathetic, and sadness dominates the movie and at times you wonder why you are watching the movie. But yet, the film to me is perfectly acted by the two siblings and their father who perfectly portrays someone who is trying to understand dementia and the sadness he feels when he can no longer remember anything. He gets upset when he cannot remember things when people tell him they should and as he gets farther into the illness, his emotions are perfectly portrayed. And although I may have asked myself why I was watching such a strange movie, it was difficult to take my eyes away and I was trapped in and how well the characters were able to portray real life, human emotion, and everyday struggles.
The ending changes the perception of the story in some ways, and I won't give it away but watching how it ended brought closure to the story in a way that personally made the movie very worthwhile to me. It is a very low-budget movie so the camera work and filming is not terrific but the acting and writing was terrific. I would highly suggest the movie but be warned it is not a very happy, relaxing, entertaining movie, if that is what you are seeking in your movie watching experience.
It was certainly one of the weirdest movies I have seen to date, and although far from perfect, it was a movie that I believe is well executed.
*Note: Laura Linney was nominated for an Oscar last year for her role in this film and Tamara Jenkins, who wrote the script and directed the film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.*
More movie reviews to follow as I watch them.
I believe that it is highly unlikely that more than of 2 of my fellow classmates (if any) have seen this film. The story was one of the oddest movies I have ever seen, playing upon many levels of emotion and having many layers of complexity to show the difficulty of the decision that the two siblings have to make. The two siblings are met with the tough choice of what to do with their father who is slipping into the depths of dementia. Although they were never close to their father, they feel that they must do their best to help him. Tensions arises as the two of them have differing beliefs on the best path to take to help their ailing father.
Since they are both struggling writers, going after the same grant, they each have a rivalry against the other trying to gain the grant. Through all this, each deals with their own troubles, ranging from depression and anxiety, to an injured neck. The story ranges everyone from sad and depressing, to funny, to sickening, to everywhere in between. The story becomes so depressing at a point that, Wendy Savage actually steals painkillers from a dead woman to steal her pain. When her brother finds them, he asks, "Did you take these from that dead woman?" Now after this we would expect him to yell at her and tell her how inappropriately she acted but instead his response is, "Do they work?" and he immediately takes two when she says that they do.
That kind of humor, feeling of being pathetic, and sadness dominates the movie and at times you wonder why you are watching the movie. But yet, the film to me is perfectly acted by the two siblings and their father who perfectly portrays someone who is trying to understand dementia and the sadness he feels when he can no longer remember anything. He gets upset when he cannot remember things when people tell him they should and as he gets farther into the illness, his emotions are perfectly portrayed. And although I may have asked myself why I was watching such a strange movie, it was difficult to take my eyes away and I was trapped in and how well the characters were able to portray real life, human emotion, and everyday struggles.
The ending changes the perception of the story in some ways, and I won't give it away but watching how it ended brought closure to the story in a way that personally made the movie very worthwhile to me. It is a very low-budget movie so the camera work and filming is not terrific but the acting and writing was terrific. I would highly suggest the movie but be warned it is not a very happy, relaxing, entertaining movie, if that is what you are seeking in your movie watching experience.
It was certainly one of the weirdest movies I have seen to date, and although far from perfect, it was a movie that I believe is well executed.
*Note: Laura Linney was nominated for an Oscar last year for her role in this film and Tamara Jenkins, who wrote the script and directed the film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.*
More movie reviews to follow as I watch them.
I was thinking of seeing this movie when it came out but I don't rememeber it playing at any theater near me. Nice review.
ReplyDeleteStealing from the dead is always a topic that reeks of ambiguity. As Muller said in All Quiet, "Why should some orderly get those boots." I haven't seen the film you mention. I'll put it on my (ever expanding) list. In the meantime, I concur with Nick (a safe position, anytime) -- a nicely written review.
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