The Savages

The Savages begins with a strangely funny and surreal sequence: a group of old ladies all wear age inappropriate, cheerleader like uniforms, come from behind a row of sculpted topiary and dance in unison to an old Peggy Lee tune. This bizarrely charming scene sets the tone for the entire movie. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ script is an intimate portrait of old age full of pain and heartache, but also filled with love and compassion. I can’t deny that the subject matter is depressing, but Jenkins provides some comic relief here and there to alleviate the dark mood.

Wendy Savage (played by Laura Linney) is an aspiring writer living in New York with some temp job. Her older brother, Jon (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman), is a college professor of theater at SUNY Buffalo. Their father, Lenny (played by Philip Bosco), has been diagnosed with vascular dementia. The siblings have not been close to their father over the years, but as their father’s health state deteriorates rapidly, they are forced to deal with his care. I love the fact that Jenkins never wastes much time explaining in detail the estrangement between the father and children. We get a good sense of what kind of parent Lenny may be simply from a few fleeting conversations between Wendy and Jon.

A lesser writer/director could have easily turned this movie into some cliché melodrama, yet Savages is as far from a melodramatic film as a film can get dealing with such a bleak subject. Jenkins chooses a good location for the nursing home in the film. Buffalo, especially in winter time, is quite befitting for the tone of this movie. The calm observational detail of its visual strategy brings out brings out the eloquent, ashen gray and silver tones in a wintry world that seems deprived of any liveliness. The grainy images in the movie reflect well the harsh realities depicted.

Jenkins’ script gives vivid reality to aging and difficult choices both parents and children have to face. She delivers a relatable dark dramedy that allows us to peek into the lives of the Savage family to get a glimpse of what many of us may have already experienced or will surely face in the future. The best moments of Savages tend to be those most ironic and contradictory scenes such as the opening sequence. When Jon and Wendy drinks at a restaurant/bar in Sun City, AZ trying to figure out what to do with their ailing dad, an old couple is singing an old tune for the diners. The song is about a couple acting like little tots. It is funny to see this old couple perform like two youngsters, yet also sad to realize how much the old people want to hold on to that sense of youth. I guess that is what a place like Sun City all about – try to make elders’ lives full of activities, make their lives seem normal so that they could put the thought of death and senility behind. However, time will catch up with all of us. Forgetting doesn’t mean death won’t come knocking. When Jon calls Wendy and tells her the news about the nursing home he finds for their dad, the nursing home’s name is Valley View, but all we see is the dreary view of a deserted wintry street. Later to soothe her sense of guilt, Wendy looks through promotional materials for different nursing homes. We see videos of sunny and pleasant places, but when Wendy takes her father to one of those sunny places for an interview, it is just as depressing as Valley View.

Jenkins is a master caster. The cast of Linney, Hoffman and Bosco is just about perfect. None of the characters is exactly likable, but these able actors have the ability to make their roles incredibly human. They have flaws just like you and me, and they have to struggle with issues that face many of us in similar situations. They are just ordinary people doing their best under desperate conditions.

I am a bit disappointed about the movie’s ending. Throughout the entire movie, I feel Jenkins has been trying to be as honest as she can, but the ending is a surrender to Hollywood conventions. Every loose end is tied so perfectly that the movie loses its sharp edge. However, overall Jenkins has done a terrific job. It has been almost ten years since her last movie, Slums of Beverly Hills, was released. It is good to know that she still writes awfully sharp dialogue and all her good dramatic senses are intact.