An irreverent, hilarious and heartbreaking story revolving around a modern American family, “The Savages” portrays an all-too-common dilemma: after drifting apart emotionally and geographically over the years, two siblings Wendy (Laura Linney) and Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) must band together to care for an elderly parent (Philip Bosco). THE SAVAGES is an irreverent comic drama about a pair of adult siblings who are suddenly plucked from their self-absorbed lives and forced to care for their estranged and elderly father who never cared for them.
Fortunate to have escaped from the unhappy home of their childhood, the Savage siblings are firmly ensconced in their separate complicated lives. Wendy Savage (Academy Award nominee Laura Linney) is a struggling East Village playwright who is involved with a married man and makes ends meet by working as an after-hours temp in the financial district.
Jon Savage (Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a writer and college professor in Buffalo who lives an isolated academic life and can’t commit to the Polish woman he has been intimately involved with for years. Despite their emotional handicaps, both of the Savages have so far managed to muddle through their lives. All that changes when a surprise phone call informs them that their father, Lenny Savage (Tony Award winner Philip Bosco), has developed dementia and can no longer take care of himself.
Now, as Wendy and Jon put their already arrested lives on hold, they butt heads over all the decisions that must be made over how to care for their father during his final days. The unfortunate situation brings long dormant conflicts to the surface and forces them to face their past. Despite their quarrels, each of them develops a deeper understanding of what adulthood and family responsibilities really mean.
The Savages (2007)
Directed by: Tamara Jenkins
Starring: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Peter Friedman, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Cara Seymour, Tonye Patano, Debra Monk, Rosemary Murphy, Sage Kirkpatrick
Screenplay by: Tamara Jenkins
Production Design by: Jane Ann Stewart
Cinematography by: W. Mott Hupfel
Film Editing by: Brian A. Kates
Costume Design by: David C. Robinson
Set Decoration by: Carrie Stewart
Art Direction by: Suttirat Anne Larlarb, Mario Ventenilla
Music by: Stephen Trask
MPAA Rating: R for some sexuality and language.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: November 28, 2007
Visits: 66
