"The Savages", created and directed by Tamara Jenkins, presents us a real human situation, something most movie makers tend to sugar coat for the viewer. Ms. Jenkins, who no doubt has known a similar situation first hand, shows us the indignities a man, at the end of his life, must deal with. In the process, she takes us to meet two siblings who have no idea about how their lives will be changed, and how, at the same time, they will reconnect with their estranged, and dying father.
We meet Lenny at the adult community in Arizona where he's been living with Doris, his long time lover. Lenny has not been close to his two grown up children, after his own marriage to their mother ended. Something snaps in his brain, and suddenly, he starts showing signs he is falling into a dementia, probably caused by Alzheimer's disease. He starts acting up, crating a problem in the assisted living community where he and Doris live. His children, Jon and Wendy, are summoned to help their father after Doris' sudden death.
Jon and Wendy live separate lives. It appears they have grown apart in the years they have been away from home. Jon is a professor at a Buffalo college where he specializes in theater. Wendy, who lives in Manhattan is an aspiring playwright. When they meet, they are appalled at their father's condition. Doris' relatives make it known they have to get him out because they want to sell the apartment.
What to do? Neither one of them has even thought about the probability of being called upon to deal with such a tragedy. They must find a place that will take Lenny right away. Wendy gets a little sample of things to come during the flight back to Buffalo, where Jon has found an affordable nursing home. Wendy's reaction is to ask her brother whether the place reeks of urine, or not.
Nothing has prepared them for what they will have to face in the near future. They are shocked by the conditions they find in the home. The father, in a way, brings them together. Jon, a man with his feet on the ground, knows a lot about his sister's failures as a dramatist and her failed relationship with a married man who only uses her to satisfy his sexual needs.
The beauty of the film is the acting. Philip Seymour Hoffman, perhaps the best actor working in today's movies, plays Jon with such naturalness that the character and the actor become one. Mr. Hoffman displays every nuance this character requires. He is perfect as this man whose own life is not exactly what he probably set out to be. Laura Linney's Wendy is one of the best roles she has been asked to interpret in the movies. She is nothing short of magnificent in her creation of this woman who lives in the fantasy world of the theater that hasn't been too kind to her. The third great performance is the Lenny of Philip Bosco. He is a man whose mind has betrayed him. The rest of the cast does well under Ms. Jenkins' direction.
Anyone with any experience with an older sick family member, has had to deal with the same situation these Savage children are faced with; those who had, will see themselves mirrored in what the young Savages are going through. A visit to a nursing home, no matter whether one that caters to the rich, or to the poor, is an eye opening experience. Most of us forget the indignities of a sick loved one being confined to one of those places. The once independent and carefree souls are left to depend on the kindness of the people that have the misfortune of working in such institutions.
Ms. Jenkins has done wonders with her clear vision of what must be a hard way to deal when health problems change one's life, as one knew it. In spite of the seriousness of what is shown on the screen, "The Savages" is not a downer, on the contrary. Ms. Jenkins' story is never somber because of the lighter tone throughout the movie. At the same time it offers a positive aspect as the brother and the sister rediscover their bond and move forward.
"The Savages" is one of the best films of 2007!
We meet Lenny at the adult community in Arizona where he's been living with Doris, his long time lover. Lenny has not been close to his two grown up children, after his own marriage to their mother ended. Something snaps in his brain, and suddenly, he starts showing signs he is falling into a dementia, probably caused by Alzheimer's disease. He starts acting up, crating a problem in the assisted living community where he and Doris live. His children, Jon and Wendy, are summoned to help their father after Doris' sudden death.
Jon and Wendy live separate lives. It appears they have grown apart in the years they have been away from home. Jon is a professor at a Buffalo college where he specializes in theater. Wendy, who lives in Manhattan is an aspiring playwright. When they meet, they are appalled at their father's condition. Doris' relatives make it known they have to get him out because they want to sell the apartment.
What to do? Neither one of them has even thought about the probability of being called upon to deal with such a tragedy. They must find a place that will take Lenny right away. Wendy gets a little sample of things to come during the flight back to Buffalo, where Jon has found an affordable nursing home. Wendy's reaction is to ask her brother whether the place reeks of urine, or not.
Nothing has prepared them for what they will have to face in the near future. They are shocked by the conditions they find in the home. The father, in a way, brings them together. Jon, a man with his feet on the ground, knows a lot about his sister's failures as a dramatist and her failed relationship with a married man who only uses her to satisfy his sexual needs.
The beauty of the film is the acting. Philip Seymour Hoffman, perhaps the best actor working in today's movies, plays Jon with such naturalness that the character and the actor become one. Mr. Hoffman displays every nuance this character requires. He is perfect as this man whose own life is not exactly what he probably set out to be. Laura Linney's Wendy is one of the best roles she has been asked to interpret in the movies. She is nothing short of magnificent in her creation of this woman who lives in the fantasy world of the theater that hasn't been too kind to her. The third great performance is the Lenny of Philip Bosco. He is a man whose mind has betrayed him. The rest of the cast does well under Ms. Jenkins' direction.
Anyone with any experience with an older sick family member, has had to deal with the same situation these Savage children are faced with; those who had, will see themselves mirrored in what the young Savages are going through. A visit to a nursing home, no matter whether one that caters to the rich, or to the poor, is an eye opening experience. Most of us forget the indignities of a sick loved one being confined to one of those places. The once independent and carefree souls are left to depend on the kindness of the people that have the misfortune of working in such institutions.
Ms. Jenkins has done wonders with her clear vision of what must be a hard way to deal when health problems change one's life, as one knew it. In spite of the seriousness of what is shown on the screen, "The Savages" is not a downer, on the contrary. Ms. Jenkins' story is never somber because of the lighter tone throughout the movie. At the same time it offers a positive aspect as the brother and the sister rediscover their bond and move forward.
"The Savages" is one of the best films of 2007!