Miscellaneous Reviews Festivals Lists Etc
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Here


Site Meter

 

The Films of Tamara Jenkins

Slums of Beverly Hills

The Savages (January 11/08)

The Savages - director Tamara Jenkins' first feature since her 1998 debut Slums of Beverly Hills - casts Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as siblings Jon and Wendy Savage, with the bulk of the movie following their efforts to care for their ailing father (Philip Bosco's Lenny). Jenkins has infused the proceedings with a low-key, distinctly authentic sort of vibe that proves impossible to resist, though the filmmaker does offer occasional bursts of levity in the form of darkly comedic asides. There's little doubt that much of the film's success can be attributed to the superb performances, as both Hoffman and Linney ably step into their complex, sporadically unlikable characters. However, at a running time of almost two hours, it inevitably does become clear that The Savages is substantially longer than one might've liked - a situation Jenkins exacerbates by including a few needless third-act subplots (including Wendy's tentative friendship with a kindly orderly). The end result is a film that's ultimately more effective as an actor's showcase than as a fully-realized, genuinely moving piece of work, though one can't help but admire the honesty with which Jenkins has imbued her screenplay (the movie is undoubtedly one of the most sincere looks at the rigors of aging to come around in quite some time).

out of

© David Nusair