Watching two dysfunctional children grapple with the daunting task has never been more powerful than in Tamara Jenkins’ latest film “The Savages.”
In this heavy-hearted dark comedy, Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Wendy Savage (Laura Linney) are forced to care for their aging estranged father Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) after the death of his long-time girlfriend leaves him destroyed by dimensia and without a home.
Jon Savage is a cynical college professor terrified of commitment. Wendy Savage is an aspiring New York City playwright who works odd jobs and entertains an odd relationship with a married man (Peter Friedman). Forced together on a journey to the geaser-oasis of Sun City, Ariz. to retrieve their father, the two struggle to appease their sibling indifferences.
Consequently, they place their father in a seedy nursing home in Jon’s home city of Buffalo and decide to wait out the looming holiday season with the ailing Lenny.
The result is a priceless comedy full prickly humor and an intense emotional bond with the three characters. The acting is masterful with the cast delivering excellent performances. Hoffman and Linney play off one another so effortlessly that the viewer almost forgets that the Savages are not actually a family. Their competition for success surpasses the hysterical when Wendy claims to have received a Guggenheim grant but in reality was receiving FEMA aid after Sept. 11.
Bosco’s performance role in the play was less obvious; however, the sheer force of his acting was undeniable. He nails his role as an ornery, aloof, old man that the viewer cannot help but love. In one memorable scene, he acts out on his hatred for a male nurse by writing the word “prick” on the bathroom wall…in something slightly more messy than Crayons.
Despite all of the fun and games, the film deals with a delicate issue in a uniquely charming way. Director Jenkins conducts the audience from full-blown laughter to stifling tears with a surprisingly skilled grace. At no point is the viewer overwhelmed with grief, but the reality of death that the film discusses is not ever easily swallowed. Despite the weighty subject matter, the superb acting is perfectly coupled with insightful directing to bring out the best of a brilliant screenplay.
“The Savages” is a film that is not to be missed as it offers a welcome alternative to the big-name blockbusters of the recent holiday season. The film will take you leave you with a laugh caught in your throat and a tear on your cheek and a feeling of complete satisfaction.
The film is only showing at the Chez Artiste Theatre so I suggest avoiding the matinee performance to avoid long lines of old-timers and their slew of walkers and oxygen tanks.
