2007 is widely viewed as the successor to 1939, 1967, and 1999 as thewatershed movie years in cinematic history.On the eve of the superhero and IP takeover kickstarted byIron ManandThe Dark Knightthe following year, our brightest visionary directors converged to reflect on the angst and uncertainty of America at the tail end of theGeorge W. Bushadministration and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Something was in the water in 2007, and it wasn’t refreshing, as films likeNo Country for Old Men,There Will Be Blood,Zodiac, andMichael Claytonwere harsh character studies and period epics about the wrath of capitalism, senseless violence, and the irresolute nature of life.
Even familiar, light dramedies about families likeThe Savagesweresoaked by the year’s acid-dipped tongue.This film byTamara Jenkins, starringPhilip Seymour HoffmanandLaura Linneyas siblings taking care of their ailing father, examines the cruelty of life with the people you love the most.
Tamara Jenkins Takes on a Dysfunctional Family in ‘The Savages’
If there were any justice in the world, Tamara Jenkins, the writer-director of lively and touching comedy-dramas likeSlums of Beverly HillsandPrivate Life, would make more movies.Her limited filmography and current fallow period speak to the bias against female directors getting projects greenlit that persists today.Although her films, dark comedies mixed with affectionate family dramas about middle-aged peoplegoing through troubling emotional circumstances, lack any spectacle and immediate prestige, Jenkins unlocks the most vulnerable and sensitive parts of all humanity.
The Savages, which received Oscar nominations for Jenkins' screenplay and Linney’s performance, follows two estranged siblings, Wendy (Linney) and Jon Savage (Hoffman), who band together to look after their father suffering from early on-set dementia, Lenny (Philip Bosco), who drifted away from them after years of physical and emotional abuse. Like father, like daughter and son, Wendy and Jon are equally dysfunctional and incapable of settling down and finding peace with themselves.
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney Deliver Pitch-Black Comedy and Sentimental Drama in ‘The Savages’
Arguably the finest actor of his generation, you could always count onthe late Philip Seymour Hoffman to give an unforgettable leading or supporting performance.No matter thesize or weight of the role, he brought a considerable layer of seriocomic tragedy, pathos, and unorthodox warmth to films likeMagnolia,Almost Famous,Synecdoche, New York, andThe Master. InThe Savages, Hoffman finds himself playing one of his signature neurotic intellects, a theater professor who can’t hold down a relationship. Under the pressure of watching over his dying father, Jon’s irritability cuts deeper and deeper inward, revealing his broken soul.
Wendy, an aspiring playwright, is also just trying to hang on amid this emotional crisis. In an affair with a married man, Wendy is aware of her romantic misgivings, but she’s so used to being disappointed by intimate relationships, going back to her broken bond with her parents, that she’s become disillusioned. Linney, whose performance rivals her work inYou Can Count on Me, is quietly one of thebest living actors at playing characterstrying to hold things togetherbut is desperate to unload all her stress for catharsis' sake.
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The Savages, evoking contemporaneous dramedies about melancholic, cranky middle-aged people byAlexander PayneandKenneth Lonergan, is unafraid to dish out pitch-black humor.Jenkins delightfully breaks down the pretenses of Wendy and Jon’s academic background.After all, creative arts are almost always pursued by the most insecure people. This usually lightcomedy-drama about familiesovercoming their differences is clouded by 2007-coded darkness and disruption of American values. Not only does Jenkins allow our two leads to be authentically unlikable, but she concludes the film on a note that doesn’t redeem them. Instead, Wendy and Jon find a lifestyle that takes solace in their neurosis. While it doesn’t end with the same level of bleakness as the totemic films of 2007,Jenkins boldly doesn’t try to re-model her characters as benevolent angels, but instead, allows them to stay true to themselves as people comfortable living with their deep flaws.
The world seems to be collapsing before the eyes of the titular siblings. This phenomenon emerges during times of familial crises, as every past grievance and misgiving is unearthed, waiting to be settled once and for all.The Savagesworks as a high-class character study because, even with all their bickering, you still suspect there are deeply sensitive feelings that are being left unsaid.The irresolute arc of Wendy and Jon, on paper, suggests that the characters are shallow, but people cannot be reduced to linear, three-act arcs with predictable motivations and instincts.
The Savages
