The Savages Review
by [email protected] (dnb AT dca DOT net)December 17th, 2007
THE SAVAGES
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2007 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
Whatever happened to Tamara Jenkins?
In 1998 she made this terrific little film, "Slums of Beverly Hills," with Alan Arkin and Marisa Tomei (not "Down and Out in Beverly Hills"--that's the one with Nick Nolte and Bette Midler). Jenkins's film, a semi-autobiographical look at a lower-middle-class family slumming it in Tinseltown, also featured Natasha Lyonne (the "American Pie" films) in one of her earliest roles. It was sad, very funny, and strangely poignant, beautifully acted by a fine ensemble cast (think "Little Miss Sunshine" sans VW bus).
But since then? Nothing. Well, that's not exactly true. In 2004 Jenkins made a short film entitled "Choices: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly." But that's pretty much it. Why absent from the biz for near on a decade, I wonder? As memory serves "Slums'" was reasonably well received. (And no, it wasn't so that Jenkins could prep for the kayak competition at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia--that's another Tamara Jenkins.) What I do know is that, with "The Savages," Philadelphia's own Ms. Jenkins has made a triumphant return--her writing (and direction) has lost none of its sadness, humor, or poignancy in the ensuing years.
Much less an ensemble piece than "Slums'," "'Savages" is essentially a four-character drama (with laughs!) about a brother and sister who are forced to care for their ailing father--and face some difficult home truths--when circumstances conspire to leave him homeless. (The sister's boyfriend rounds out the lusty quartet.) When said siblings are played by two of the finest actors on the planet--Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney--you know "The Savages" isn't going to be any ordinary family crisis flick. Needless to say Hoffman and Linney are wonderful, separately *and* together. Veteran actor Philip Bosco plays the Dad, Lenny, whom Jon and Wendy shuffle off to (snowy) Buffalo, New York from the bustling retirement community of Sun City, Arizona and Peter Friedman is Larry, Wendy's married man on the side with a slobbery yellow lab forever at his.
The strength of "The Savages" is its effective depiction of the difficulties inherent in caring for an elderly relative. Of course there's humor to be found here but much of the realization is pretty darned depressing (it's no stretch to assume that Jenkins might have experienced something entirely similar first hand). It's scary stuff that truly hits home.
Adjectives that describe the performances of Hoffman and Linney are not hard to come by: acute, understated, empathetic, unsentimental, bittersweet, ironic, textured, and (especially) delightful. They make the bond between Jon and Wendy tangible, and not just because they share similar interests (the former teaches theater and drives a crappy Corolla; the latter is an aspiring playwright with a crappy love life). The humor emerges naturally from their shared situation; both Hoffman and Linney are somehow able to provide a delicate--and indelible--balance between playfulness and crisis.
And not let's forget Bosco, who skillfully portrays a man slowly slipping into the grip of dementia. It's a much bigger performance than simply responding in the same monosyllabic sentences or sleeping with his mouth open.
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David N. Butterworth
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