‘Savages’ movie transcends stereotypes

There are many reasons not to see “The Savages.” The trailers and previews do not need to announce the movie’s association with the Sundance Film Festival, which has a reputation of awarding art over entertainment. The cinematography and the pauses after humorous lines are hallmarks of a film trying to be both a high-brow art flick with a message and a pleasurable film for the masses. A picture at odds with itself rarely works.

There’s the questionable choice of lead characters — a Brecht scholar and his struggling playwright sister? This is obviously a setup for meta conversations about the distinction between art and life, metaphors of alienation and pretentiously ironic dialogue.

Then there’s the banal storyline. Countless movies explore the dynamic shift that occurs when children begin taking care of their parents. Just as many concern themselves with the notion that it takes a tragedy to bring an estranged family together. Nothing new can be added to this sappy genre.

But screenwriter and director Tamara Jenkins manages to transcend all these potential pitfalls by creating a believable, engaging film. Her first wise choice was to write her leads not as well-adjusted and busy people who just happen to have fallen out of contact but as seriously flawed and busy people who can’t face each other.

Wendy (Laura Linney) is working in New York City and having an affair with a married man. But what she really wants is to write plays. Jon (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is a theater professor in Buffalo, N.Y., who can’t gather the courage to marry his Polish girlfriend, even though that means she’ll be deported. The care these siblings have for each other despite the lack of every day involvement in each other’s lives adds depth to what could have quickly become a trite two hours.

Jenkins also manages to avoid the trap of having her artistic characters prattle endlessly about their pursuits. Occasionally a parallel to Brecht or theater history will pop up, but only when it makes sense for the character. The dialogue is beautifully naturalistic without being tedious. There are no obvious laugh lines or grandiose pathos that could only come from a writer’s fifth draft and not an actual person’s mouth. Because the film is essentially plotless and almost completely character-driven, this realism is essential.

Enough praise cannot be given for the cast. Linney and Hoffman not only deftly perform their roles individually, they have breathtaking chemistry together. Neither is there a weak link in the supporting cast, with Philip Bosco, their dying father, as a particular standout.

Sometimes Jenkins’ directing is heavy-handed, such as a shot of the father staring at a graveyard as his children bicker over something trivial, and this film will not be for everyone. But for audiences who enjoy character-driven, naturalistic, feel-good movies, “The Savages” is a must-see.