The Savages is a note-perfect movie with pristine dramatic-comic performances from stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney. As disgruntled siblings John and Wendy savage, the two phenomenal talents forge an unforgettable onscreen relationship that is bolstered by each one’s respective work of dramatic nuance and subtle wit. Linney is the self-defeating dreamer, who mostly just imagines the realization of her deepest wishes. Hoffman is a cold and callous scholar writing a commercially unwanted but personally significant book on the unemotional, all too similar, style of Brecht. They’re both stunned and dismayed upon learning that there father is ill and needs their assistance, a doubly thorny circumstance given how he abandoned them long ago. They both decide to be better people and treat him as best they know how. Their personal journey toward self-discovery coincides with his experience being tossed around hospitals and nursing homes. As he regresses into a self-reliant, near infant, they each expand their horizons and learn to finally mature into adults. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins solidifies herself as one of the of the top talents to watch with this darkly funny and painfully authentic tale of love, loss, and personal redemption.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
DVD of the Week: The Savages
The Savages is a note-perfect movie with pristine dramatic-comic performances from stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney. As disgruntled siblings John and Wendy savage, the two phenomenal talents forge an unforgettable onscreen relationship that is bolstered by each one’s respective work of dramatic nuance and subtle wit. Linney is the self-defeating dreamer, who mostly just imagines the realization of her deepest wishes. Hoffman is a cold and callous scholar writing a commercially unwanted but personally significant book on the unemotional, all too similar, style of Brecht. They’re both stunned and dismayed upon learning that there father is ill and needs their assistance, a doubly thorny circumstance given how he abandoned them long ago. They both decide to be better people and treat him as best they know how. Their personal journey toward self-discovery coincides with his experience being tossed around hospitals and nursing homes. As he regresses into a self-reliant, near infant, they each expand their horizons and learn to finally mature into adults. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins solidifies herself as one of the of the top talents to watch with this darkly funny and painfully authentic tale of love, loss, and personal redemption.
