The Savages is proof that when a film has great actors working at the peak of their games, you are going to be engaged no matter what.
This is not to say that there wasn't anything else about the film that was noteworthy, but I do believe that the performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney (one of my favorite actresses, period) are the best thing about this film.
I feel like I have seen so many movies in the past week about either the elderly or dying, from Away From Her to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly to this. The Savages is not as good as those other two films, but it has a different tone that makes this like comparing apples to oranges.
There are moments in the film when I laughed out loud, but I think the movie is unfairly billed as a comedy, even attracting a Golden Globe comedy nomination for Hoffman. Director/screenwriter Tamara Jenkins doesn't hold the film tightly together for long enough, so by the end it starts to drag a bit. But thanks to the performances and the relationships established, The Savages remains engrosing throughout.
3.0 out of 4
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