Movie of the Month ; THE SAVAGES (2007)

AS WE MOVE ever further into the 21st Century, more and more Gen-Xers are finding themselves thrust into the role of primary caregiver to their ailing and aging parents. Such a situation is challenging enough even under the best of circumstances, but what if the person who needs taking care of was never a loving and nurturing parent to begin with, or the middle-aged child has more than enough problems on his own plate to deal with? This is the dilemma faced by Jon and Wendy Savage.

SYNOPSIS:

Jon and Wendy Savage are two siblings who have spent their adult years trying to recover from the abuse of their abusive father, Lenny Savage. Suddenly, a call comes in that Lenny’s old girlfriend has died, he cannot care for himself with his dementia and her family is dumping him on his children. Despite the fact Jon and Wendy have not spoken to Lenny for twenty years and he is even more loathsome than ever, the Savage siblings feel obliged to take care of him. Now together, brother and sister must come to terms with the new and painful responsibilities with their father now.

REVIEW:

If you look for honesty portrayed in film, you can't do much better than The Savages. Despite its grim subject matter, there is plenty of humor in this film, which mainly arises from the absurdity of situations that feel so genuinely familiar.

"The Savages" works on a dual level, exposing the grim realities of aging, while at the same time exploring the complexities of familial (i.e. parent-child and sibling) relationships. Jon and Wendy, both unmarried and childless, aren't exactly what one would call models of highly functional and successful adults in their own right. Jon is a theater professor and part-time author who lives in a shabby Buffalo apartment with a girl from Poland who is being deported because Jon, commitment-phobic that he is, can't bring himself to marry her. Wendy is an unsuccessful playwright who pays the bills with temp jobs and has been carrying on a dead-end affair with a married man for years. Both have an understandable urge to live their own lives, and they feel ill-equipped to cope with this new burden that has been suddenly placed upon them. But it is Wendy who provides the warm human center that lifts the movie above the dreary nature of its material. It is Wendy who struggles most with doing what is right by trying to make the last days of a man who abandoned her as comfortable as possible. In fact, we sense that Wendy does quite a bit of growing up in the course of her struggles.

The movie also portrays how Americans deal with aging and death. Jon gives a speech in which he holds forth on how the whole nursing home presentation of beauty and comfort is nothing more than an attempt to prey on the guilt of the families of the elderly. Inside they are all the same, he says, places of death. The sibs argue over the care of their father, at times with him present. You can see dad giving up all desire to persist. This film is entirely devoid of melodrama. There are huge potentials for melodrama: irresponsible parents abandoning young children, the usual sibling rivalry, midlife crisis, extramarital, uncertain relationship, career frustrations and agonies of aging and dying. Under Tamara Jenkins' levelheaded and sensible direction, these characters react to these situations in a normal way, get emotional occasionally but never scream until they choke. The ending of the film is very humane. It doesn't have any major twists or bangs, but it doesn't end on a nothing-note either. It teaches us that the lessons we learn from one experience can help us deal with the next, and it's the many small messages like this and the very life-like feel of the film's craft that make it one of the most special films I had the experience of seeing.

The beauty of the film is the acting. Philip Seymour Hoffman, perhaps the best actor working in today's movies, plays Jon with such naturalness that the character and the actor become one. Mr. Hoffman displays every nuance this character requires. He is perfect as this man whose own life is not exactly what he probably set out to be.Laura Linney's Wendy is one of the best roles she has been asked to interpret in the movies. She is nothing short of magnificent in her creation of this woman who lives in the fantasy world of the theater that hasn't been too kind to her. The third great performance is the Lenny of Philip Bosco. He is a man whose mind has betrayed him. The rest of the cast does well under Tamara Jenkins’ direction.
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The Savages is an incredibly rewarding, bittersweet experience where the comedy rings painfully true and the melancholy that blankets you upon watching will truly give you something to look forward to with a profound sadness. . Please see it; you'll be glad you did.

Title : The Savages

Director :Tamara Jenkins

Cast :Philip Seymour Hoffman,Laura Linney


Rated R for Sexuality and Mature Themes


Country :USA

Language : English

DVD Features : interview with the cast and crew
photo gallery
extended scenes

Trailer Link :www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu9G9OxHMhI

Torrent File Name :The.Savages.2007.LiMiTED.DVDRip.XviD-SAPHiRE