Philip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia, Capote) is just about the best character actor in Hollywood. Laura Linney (You Can Count On Me, The Squid And The Whale) is pretty much Queen of the indie scene. Give them a chance to bounce off one another in a pin-sharp comedy drama and it’s quite something.
The set-up – siblings must confront their dysfunctional relationship and stuttering lives when their cantankerous ageing Pop’s dementia sees him smearing poo around his bathroom walls – carries real emotional heft and could easily have been a platform for cloying melodrama. In fact, it plays out with restraint and class, the fingerprints of producer Alexander Payne (helmer of Sideways and About Schmidt) very much in evidence.
There are tender moments you can really believe thanks to Hoffman and Linney’s beautifully observed performances, and there’s masterfully subtle humour throughout thanks to writer-director Tamara Jenkins. Broadway thesp Philip Bosco deserves a hearty clap too. His portrayal of ‘difficult’ dad Lenny incorporates Larry David-esque laughs without ever losing sight of the sadness at the core of the situation. That’s impressive.
A modest, carefully crafted little movie, The Savages wisely makes no grand statements and steers clear of tumultuous bluster. This is the dark comedy of real life, captured with clarity and heart and it’s highly recommended.
