Completely Savage

Okay, so maybe it's not completely savage. But "The Savages" is a better film about alzheimers/dementia than the romanticized version that we got in "Away from Her". No, I am not saying that AFH was not a good movie. It was. Julie Christie deserves a nomination. I'm just saying as someone who has seen the effects first hand, its a little too romanticized for me to be in love with the film.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, two of the best in film today, are in the roles of sister and brother, both long estranged from their father. They are both in various states of mid-life crises, and Linney's character, a playwright taking temp jobs to support herself, may be the only person to be turned down for a Guggenheim fellowship more than her brother who is still dying to get his book about playwright Bertolt Brecht published. They play off each other with such ease, that at times you forget that Alzheimers/Dementia, end-of-life, however you choose to label it is not a laughing matter. But Tamara Jenkins, in only her second film and first since 1998's pretty decent "Slums of Beverly Hills", directs "The Savages" reminds you that life is, well, absurd, but never takes the picture to that of a dark, heartless comedy. And you will often find yourself laughing at it in places you know you shouldn't. Philip Bosco is wonderfully unsentimental and most often unloving as their father who can no longer take care of himself after the death of his longtime girlfriend he was living with.

Okay, so it's probably not going to be high on the Valentine's weekend list of films you want to see. But I'm guessing if you're reading this, then garbage like "Fool's Gold" probably isn't in your plans anyway. The bottom line is that there are seldom a time you should ever miss the work of both the leads here. And if Hoffman has created a problem, a good one to have, it's that he has 3 Oscar-caliber performances this year! Comparing these performances to the two that Cate Blanchett (who I love very much) was nominated for? Not even close. And Linney? She definitely deserves her nomination and in my opinion a victory, though I'm guessing it will never happen. And as "The Savages" reminds us, life goes on. A