The Savages is the type of film people don’t actually enjoy, but rave about nonetheless. Now, I’m not saying here that it isn’t well written (it is) nor well acted (it is), but that it is akin to watching a poignant painting dry. The film is unnervingly slow and one wonders if anything valuable will come about from the painstakingly placed strokes. To writer/director Tamara Jenkins’s credit, something does evolve. And to her further credit, that something is pretty close to truth. That is, we should unabashedly do the things we love, go after the people we love, and fight hard for grace.
This said, one may question why I’m not more enthralled about this film; honestly, it’s because I didn’t enjoy it very much. Yes, life is hard and full of angst, but when I watch a movie I generally want to be pulled into a world where that truth is perhaps a little less evident.
