Product Description

SAVAGES - WIDESCREEN (DVD MOVIE)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1390 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2008-04-22
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.com
It's almost impossible to describe The Savages in a way that makes it sound as richly engaging and enjoyable as it is. The story sounds bleak: Two unhappy siblings--Wendy (Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me) and Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote)--are forced to grapple with their dying father (Philip Bosco, Damages) as he slips into dementia. But this spare outline doesn't capture the wealth of human detail that the script and performances contain. Linney and Hoffman vividly portray the sort of cluttered, precarious relationship that brothers and sisters can have, thick with past grievances but also unspoken affections and connections that can't even be articulated. As Wendy and Jon struggle to make some kind of peace with their difficult father, watching these wonderfully understated yet compelling actors is a pleasure unto itself. But the script and direction deserve these actors; filmmaker Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) finds honest emotion and sly, sideways humor in the starkness of mortality. She doesn't force any easy epiphanies on her story, but lets the characters find solace through their own clumsy efforts. Anyone who appreciates the messiness of humanity--the territory that Hollywood movies seem to have surrendered to smart indie films like The Squid and the Whale, Little Children, or The Good Girl--will find The Savages a smart, genuine, and empathic portrait of life. --Bret Fetzer

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Customer Reviews

Every aspect of this film fits like a glove...
Let's talk for a minute about the perfect actors for the perfect script. As I watched `The Savages' last night I couldn't help but think that these actors couldn't be better suited for this film. Both Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman have this incredibly natural dry wit about them that plays so well with the tightly woven dramedy Tamara Jenkins penned. Every line felt real and connects with the audience as it connects with the actors. There is nothing fake about this movie, for the actors understand their characters.

But this film is so much more than just a mere actor's showcase. No, `The Savages' moved me more than many other films this past year. In all honesty it is truly one of the best films I've seen to tackle the parent/child/sibling relationships in quite some time.

Wendy and Jon Savage are a unique brand of adult, thanks in large part to their unnatural (or all too natural) upbringing. Their father was abusive and their mother right out abandoned them and so they find themselves middle-aged and dysfunctional. Jon is a college professor who can't seem to get his personal as well as his secular life in order, and Wendy is an aspiring playwright who filters through temp services and steals from the government as a way to make ends meat. When their father Lenny finds himself homeless, Wendy and Jon are then forced to find him ample living arrangements. This in turn forces Wendy and Jon to both come face to face with their own deficiencies that resulted from the man they are now attempting to care for. They are guilty, they are bitter, they are defensive, they are confused; and through it all they become stronger people.

The performances by the three leads truly elevate this film, because without their believable conviction the weight of the film could have easily been lost. Laura Linney delivers what may very well be her finest performance to date. As Wendy she is beautifully uncontrolled. She is immature and selfish and manipulative but in an innocent and sympathetic way. She creates a character that we can condone despite her unlikable traits. As Jon, Hoffman embodies this repressed and lonely man beautifully, giving the audience a glimpse into his soul. It is true that Linney carries this film (Hoffman's performance in `Before the Devil Knows You're Dead' is superior to his performance here) but Hoffman plays off of her brilliantly, and delivers some humanity to his comedy. Philip Bosco does a fine job never falling into obscurity. He never lets you forget that this film is essentially about him and his impact on his children. There is a scene in particular where Lenny sits in the car listening to Wendy and Jon argue about him and you can see in his eyes the guilt, as if he's asking himself "did I do this?". And then, in another scene where he turns his hearing aid down in order to kill his children's bickering you can see his misery, as if he finally understands what he put his children through now that the tables have turned.

That is really the heart of this story; for it is a story about children and parents reversing roles. This idea is conveyed beautifully as the two children struggle with their treatment of a man who never cared enough about them to try. They want to be better children than he was a parent, but bitterness and guilt can manipulate your judgment.

In the end, `The Savages' is a remarkable character study that I think is important for everyone to see, parents and children and siblings, for it gives us all something to contemplate as regards to our dealings with one another. Laura Linney's surprise Oscar nomination is no longer a surprise now that I have seen her remarkable work here. I've always been a fan of her ability to relay humanity within her performances, soaking up every ounce of her naturalness within the film, and this is probably Linney at her most natural.

a timely story--I loved it
I'm glad I didn't see this film first in theaters, but now, a year later when I can laugh all the more at the accuracy of its story about wounded adult children struggling to deal with their dying father. Great acting, excellent script, compelling story and characters, nicely filmed and edited, entertaining AND it has something to say. Not sweet or bitter, sentimental or tragic, this is the reality that every generation deals with if they live long enough, and I found a lot to make me smile, some sadness, commiseration, and closure--I haven't seen anything to compare.

A poignant film
We acquired The Savages because of the caliber of actors, thinking all along that it was a comedy. As soon as the movie started, we realized we were in for a surprise for the plot centers around rather serious issues that many family members confront:
1. Death of parents
2. Responsibility to elders
3. Serious illness
4. A demented parent
5. Placement of a loved one in the care of others
6. The quality of care provided for the elderly

It is difficult to express the feelings surfaced by The Savages as we witnessed brother and sister trying to care for a father, diagnosed with dementia, who failed to be loving or caring to them. The father is alone because his life partner dies and her children don't want the responsibility of caring or providing shelter for him.

From the outset, the movie will shock viewers with the crude reality of mental health issues confronted by the unfortunate individuals who suffer dementia. The acting is superb. Wendy, played by Laura Linney is the lonely play writer sister who has terrible relationships because she does not want the commitment to developing a family of her own. Jon, masterfully played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, is the brother who also can't commit to a relationship, living in an apartment that is so cluttered that when his sister visits and he offers the couch, which is covered with magazines and school papers, we hear her cynical comment: "what couch?"

The range of emotions displayed brought us to laughter, being upset, understanding the guilt and anger felt by the siblings, empathy and finally we were happy to see the transformation, the catharsis experienced by the family members as they learn much about themselves from the experiences shared.

Not an easy movie to watch, but an excellent view as to real human drama. A poignant film, don't miss it!