This sounds like it's gonna be depressing.
Why The Savages?
Because Laura Linney and P.S.H. are my favorite and I hope they make a baby and I hope that baby is me? Maybe a little. But mostly because this is the only movie to treat its subject matter -- facing the sobering realization that your aging father's cognition and self-reliance have deteriorated to the point where you have decisions to make -- with any semblance of honesty and without heaps of thick, gooey sentimentalism. This is something a lot of our parents are going through right now, and something we'll be doing sooner than we think.
Watching Hoffman's character build a relationship with his estranged sister (Linney) as their father's condition forces them together has a raw ache to it that will stick with me forever.
Watching what the two of them go through together made me hope I die before my parents start to.
Last edited by A Robot Bit Me; 17 Feb 2010 at 02:25 AM.
This sounds like it's gonna be depressing.
Originally Posted by Master Shake
Hoffman seems to like doing depressing movies.
This movie isn't really my cup of tea but its pretty good.
Watched it yesterday, Interesting film. Philip Hoffman is top notch as always, Laura Linney was pretty great too. I couldnt stand her sleazy love interest, but I guess maybe that was the point.
It moved really slow, and then the payoff was sudden and final with pretty much a sigh of relief. The build up and anticipation of death in old age by family members is usually worse than the actual occurrance. This replication was captured well here and mirrored real life deterioration
It was a great glimpse at a slice of life that people dont tend to think about, and the theme was presented in a manner where it was really down to earth. The entire situation was very relatable, even though (at least for myself) the characters were not.
Cinematography was great, some nice shots and frames, the editing could have used a little work. There were some strange brief scenes that if only to capture an expression, just stopped in mid track. I kept thinking "wtf was that"
Favorite part of the entire movie was the black nursing home staffs reaction to old school cinematic black face.
The other "laffs" didnt really make me laugh. I kept hoping that since this was billed as a comedy/drama, that Old Man Savage (Philip Bosco) would so something to crack me up, it just never came.
However, the overall drama was on point, and for that I would say it was a bleak yet enjoyable experience. If anything, PSH continues to solidify his place as one of the greatest actors the world of cinema has ever produced.
Last edited by D_N_G; 08 Mar 2010 at 12:19 PM.
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