Film Bites

Wendy Savage(Linney), is an aspiring playwright living in New York city, having a little trouble getting noticed. Jon Savage(Seymour Hoffman), from Buffalo, New York, is a teacher and novelist afflicted with a bout of writers-block. Their father, Lenny(Bosco), recently lost his girlfriend of 20 years, and is suffering from dementia. Moving Lenny to a nursing home in Buffalo becomes an ordeal when Wendy and Jon realize their father is farther gone than either had predicted. A somber story about the slow process of losing a loved one, The Savages is a comedy-noir destined for greatness.

Powerful subject matter is a very common theme for films recently; The Savages, Juno, Bella, Martian Child. Instead of the mundane action blockbuster, or the predictable romantic comedy, it is nice to see studios, directors and writers creating works of silver-screen art. The Savages

One of the striking aspects of The Savages is the internal conflicts within each of the characters. Jon, obviously an intelligent man perpetually doing ‘research’ for his new book. At the same time, he is battling against his own emotions over the fact that his girlfriend of 4 years must return to Poland because of an expired visa. His sister, Wendy is also having relationship troubles. Officially single, she is caught in an unhealthy affair with a married man, Larry(Peter Friedman). In the end, both Jon and Wendy must face their family history; how much care should they take of their father, when as children, their father didn’t take care of them?

In the theatre, the ending of the film was unsatisfying. In hindsight, the end was truly real to life; there really isn’t an end to a life story. No one’s story can be succinctly told in a 2 hour film, and The Savages accurately portrays that. Wendy and Jon survive the trials of their father’s death and continue with their lives having learned from the experience.