Daddy dilemma

>> Tamara Jenkins returns victorious with the touching family comedy The Savages

by MATTHEW HAYS

Sophomore features by directors who struck gold with their debuts often prove brutally disappointing. Thus it’s a pleasure to report, given how good The Slums of Beverly Hills (1997) was, that Tamara Jenkins’s second feature, The Savages, is so damn good.

Jenkins again presses her keen observations of inane behaviour and her dark, razor-sharp wit up against her characters, a brother (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and sister (Laura Linney) who must deal with the fact that their ailing father (Philip Bosco) is rapidly descending into dementia. Jenkins shows us her characters with all their ugly flaws; Linney is flighty, temperamental and pill-popping, while Hoffman struggles as an academic and writer. Both have clearly been terribly bruised by rough childhoods that are only hinted at; but the fact that their father now requires their help is a large, bitter pill to swallow, given the lumps these two had to take during their formative years.

One of Jenkins’s talents is her ability to create such a distinctive atmosphere in her films. Nutty things happen in The Savages, but the acting is always real and the characters are always reacting emotionally to what lies before them. As they stare down their father’s mortality and vulnerability, Linney and Hoffman are forced to confront their own mid-life crises. It’s often both funny and touching at the same time, but the ultimate high-wire act is fulfilled when we find ourselves liking these two, despite their flaws.

After Slums of Beverly Hills, I suspect Jenkins could have nabbed any actors she wanted to (that film afforded Alan Arkin one of his best roles, ever—and he’s had some good ones). This solid script is brought to life by Hoffman and Linney, who are clearly delighting in getting to play such great, dimensional characters. The Savages is a quirky film about broken characters who bicker and clash when faced with the impending death of their father. Anyone with a family will be able to relate.

The Savages opens Friday, Dec. 21

>> Movie Listings