The Savages

2007
R
1h 53m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

39K

YOUR RATING

Theatrical Trailer from Fox Searchlight Pictures

Play trailer2:25

10 Videos

99+ Photos

Dark Comedy Comedy Drama

A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

39K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 17 wins & 33 nominations total

Videos10

Photos119

+ 113

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Director Tamara Jenkins contacted Carter Burwell to score the movie. Burwell had already committed himself to score No Country for Old Men (2007), so he refused, but recommended Stephen Trask to Jenkins.

Goofs
Jon Savage drives his Polish girlfriend to the airport at 6:30 AM, in broad daylight. But in November in Buffalo, it would be pitch dark at this hour (even on November 1, sunrise isn't until 7:46).

Quotes
Jon Savage: Dad's not the one that has a problem with the Valley View. There's nothing wrong with Dad's situation. Dad's situation is fine. He's never gonna adjust to it if we keep yanking him outta there. And, actually, this upward mobility fixation of yours, it's counterproductive and, frankly, pretty selfish. Because it's not about Dad, it's about you and your guilt. That's what these places prey upon.
Wendy Savage: I happen to think it's nicer here.
Jon Savage: Of course you do, because you are the consumer they want to target. You are the guilty demographic. The landscaping, the neighborhoods of care; they're not for the residents, they're for the relatives. People like you and me who don't want to admit to what's really going on here.
Wendy Savage: Which is what, Jon?
Jon Savage: People are dying, Wendy! Right inside that beautiful building right now, it's a fucking horror show! And all this wellness propaganda and the landscaping, it's just there to obscure the miserable fact that people die! And death is gaseous and gruesome and it's filled with shit and piss and rotten stink!

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Mist/This Christmas/August Rush/I'm Not There/Purple Violets (2007)

Soundtracks
I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard
Written by Henry W. Petrie (as Henry Petrie), Philip Wingate, and Dick Manning
Performed by Peggy Lee
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews140

Review

Featured review

7/10

Not what the DVD package leads you to expect

This is a great movie, but pay no attention to the DVD packaging calling it "darkly funny", "singularly funny" and so on. While it does have a few good gags that made me laugh out loud once or twice, it's only about 25% comedy and the rest is a heavy, emotional drama about the painful subject of slow, lingering death.

Two siblings (played by Laura Linney & Philip Seymour Hoffman) are burdened with the task of taking care of their estranged father who they learn is suffering from dementia. The comedy is just enough to keep it from getting too depressing but not so much that it upstages the gravity of the situation.

The pacing is appropriately slow. You'll find no car chases, shootouts, contrived romances or M-Night-Shyamalanian twists; the story is not even very significant. Instead, pay attention to the relationships between the characters, their emotional disconnection from each other & the world, and their efforts to confront their lack of intimacy. What's interesting about this movie is that it begins with no details about the characters, but slowly the past emerges and is only fully explained in the final scene.

If you like movies about real life, I think you'll enjoy this. And if you're interested in films about families/people dealing with illnesses & disorders, also check out "Away From Her", "Autumn Hearts", and "Phoebe in Wonderland" ...all good movies without the standard Hollywood cheese.