Maggie’s Quick Picks: A Review of the Movie “The Savages”

I chose “The Savages” as my “date night” movie on our anniversary. John took one look at it and said, “It’s a good thing I’ve got to work tonight.”

It’s true. He would have hated it.

Myself, I vacillated between being interested and depressed. It is a well-written movie with a good share of dry humor thrown in, and that is what caught my attention when I saw the trailer.

Regrettably, the 2-minute trailer was better than the movie.

The storyline is that of a sister and brother (Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who are forced to deal with their aging father while working through their own differences as siblings. Their character studies are well-done but are not, mind you, all that worthy of imitation. They do grow a bit by the time the credits roll—away from the adultery, away from the lies, away (perhaps) from the abuse of prescription drugs—but as the viewer, I was left unconvinced and disheartened.

I do like the work of Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, very much. The problem is, they did such a fine job of portraying their troubled characters that by the end of the movie I just felt…troubled.

Rating: 2 stars out of 4.