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  • The Savages

    Grown siblings (Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman) with little in common must find a way to work together when their aged father (Philip Bosco) slides into senility.

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    REELZ REVIEW
    "Can this delicate indie possibly live up to all the hype?..."  [more]
    — Heather Huntington

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    • Heather Huntington

      ReelzChannel.com, November 29, 2007


      Can this delicate indie possibly live up to all the hype? 


      It's been almost ten years since writer/director Tamara Jenkins made a name for herself with her brassy, blackly funny Slums of Beverly Hills. Now she's back with The Savages, a decidedly more adult examination of not-so-healthy family dynamics.


      Inspired by Jenkins' own personal experience with aging family members and ill health, The Savages is about two siblings who have to come together in a family crisis. Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an uber-intellectual Brecht professor at a college in Buffalo, whereas his sister Wendy (Laura Linney) is an overly emotional temp/aspiring playwright with a married boyfriend in New York. When their estranged and highly flawed father needs to be put in a nursing home with dementia, the two have to face the ghosts of their past--and their future--together.


      Jenkins fans looking for the irreverent humor of Slums need not apply: The Savages is a much different product. Not that there isn't humor--there are some moments--but they are much lighter and less, which makes sense considering The Savages is mostly a very real story of two people trying to cope with their father's swiftly impending death in the wake of a very imperfect life.


      The movie is mostly a character study of the very different Savage siblings, and considering the enormous talent Jenkins cast in the parts, it is more surprising to hear that Linney and Hoffman haven't worked together before than it is to hear that they fulfilled the roles perfectly. I mean, really, how could they not?


      However, The Savages did leave me wondering--is there such a thing as a movie being too much like real life? There is a realism in the writing, acting, and atmosphere of this movie that I think others are responding to that took the some of the steam out of the story for me. I might not have wanted Jon and Wendy's shoes to feel quite so tight when I was walking in them--especially considering what a depressing time in their lives Jenkins explores.


      ReelzChannel Rating:  7

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  • Crew

    Director Tamara Jenkins
    Producer Ted Hope
    Producer Anne Carey
    Producer Erica Westheimer
    Executive Producer Alexander Payne
    Executive Producer Jim Taylor
    Executive Producer Jim Burke
    Executive Producer Anthony Bregman
    Executive Producer Fred Westheimer

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MOVIE NEWS

Tuesday, April 22

Friday, November 30

  • By the Numbers

    It's a pretty tame weekend for new movies this week. Awake is the only major release (and nobody's seen it) while The Savages and Diving Bell and the Butterfly open in limited release.

    A rundown of our reviews of this weekend's new releases:   

    Awake  ???

    Not pre-screened for critics = not a good sign. Very little is known about this Jessica Alba, Hayden Christensen vehicle except that it features lots of very pretty people.

    The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 
    "Were it not for the fact that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is in French, it would likely get a nomination in every Oscar category there is." [Full Review]

    The Savages  7
    "The Savages is mostly a very real story of two people trying to cope with their father's swiftly impending death in the wake of a very imperfect life." [Full Review]

     


    Posted 11/30/2007 by Jeff

    Awake | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | The Savages

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