The Savages

The Savages is a tenderly simple tale of two siblings who must care for their ailing father and come to terms with death and other realities that fall out from family responsibilities. Laura Linney plays Wendy, who's struggling to keep afloat and caught up in a midlife crisis spiraling downward. All she needs now is to deal with her father. Joining her is her brother, John, played by the always excellent Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has come to terms with the harsh and grim realities of life, trying to urge his little sis into the paradigm of acceptance.

This portrayal of an easily relatable human look on life is beautifully told in a three-dimensional look for the three members in it. Laura Linney is superb in coping with and handling the struggles in life. She can't let things die and accept that as a process of life, so when we see visual motifs to further this notion, it really hits home in a grand way. Hoffman is crafty as usual, displaying a sort of apathetic yet relaxed humanistic-sided demeanor fueled by his own brainy intellect, as he's a college professor. He looks like a poor helpless sap, so it's just his inflection of looks that brims humor and smiles.

Director Tamara Jenkins masterfully helms a brilliant script that is a clever, dark comedy with many endearing moments of sentiment. He utilizes a point of view from each leg of the family tripod, mostly between Linney and Hoffman who are clearly civil, but not close, as they butt heads on every matter. But what's really powerful is when we see from the father's perspective of his kids fighting, which is stunning. Emotions are embedded throughout with careful deliberation under an overarching funny script that touches us.

Linney and Hoffman's chemistry is very realistic and just indisputably believable. The Savages is a very humanistic, focused film that is understated in its progression and has simple elegance that propels it. The topic of death looms throughout as its inevitability dangles closer and closer, even seen in the dreary and dreadfully cold weather that just paints a lifeless grey landscape. The Savages is spot on in an attempt to frame a family relation instance that is brought to life by captivating acting.