THE SAVAGES

A pair of siblings attempt to find a nursing home for their ailing father in THE SAVAGES. Wendy and John Savage, played by Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, receive a phone call stating that their father has lost the capacity to function on his own, and that their step-mother has passed away. Each flies cross country to the sunny skies of Arizona to tend to their father’s needs. While there, they discover that their father not only has lost mental capacities to dementia, but also financial support.

THE SAVAGES is a more sane, reasonable and realistic portrait of a dysfunctional family in comparison to its equally independent counterpart MARGOT AT THE WEDDING. Both study family dynamics, but where MARGOT AT THE WEDDING only saw distaste, frustration and angst, THE SAVAGES finds distaste, frustration, angst and love. In spite of their differences, Wendy and John attempt to find a solution for their father, whom from all intent and purpose, did not find a lot of healthy solutions for his kids. Linney and Hoffman are very good, conveying not only their thoughts, feelings and annoyance with their characters’ paternal situation, but also in attacking their own personal battles. The film was written and directed by Tamara Jenkins, who also wrote and directed THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS. Although not as wildly funny as SLUMS, THE SAVAGES still retains an authentic and original family make-up, making the characters outcomes much more rewarding.

Grade: B-