It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Jon and Wendy Savage are brother and sister children of no good parents. Their mother left them young and is "out of the picture". Their father brutal and abusive. Nonetheless, the siblings grew up as normal as middle-class Americans with middle-age types of woes. Time came when they have to take care of their aging dad. Despite how they were treated before, Wendy is compelled with providing her dad the with utmost care. Jon, on the other hand, is the level-headed, has a matter-of-fact way of dealing with life. I love how the melodrama is stripped out of it. Seeing him teary-eyed as he watches the rehearsal of the play that his sister had written about the pain they experienced, was very heartfelt. But they triumphed over the hurt and that's admirable.

And 'The Savages' does instigate unrest to a certain extent. I had intended to watch a horror film or a comedy after this one, but the film is like a heavy meal that will need its time to digest. There is an awful lot going on in this seemingly subdued film.It is a poignant portrait of the family Savage, filled to the brim with dark humor and often painful, but (or: and) deeply human matter. Hoffman and Linley may steal the show, but the screen time that Bosco gets, he takes with both hands. For instance: the moment where he takes the hearing aid out of his ear and pulls the hood over his head while son and daughter continue to argue is, despite the fact one knows he wasn't a good father (he in turn wasn't treated well as a child, either), beautiful, for the lack of a better word.But it isn't all gloom and doom as we witness brother and sister take careful, cautious steps towards a more positive future. On top of all this, 'The Savages' is very aptly filmed.9 out of 10.

Directed by Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages" is an intermittently interested drama starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney. They play a middle aged brother and sister who struggle to take care of their elderly father, played by Philip Bosco."The Savages" is at its best when its observing as these two siblings, both dysfunctional writers, move in with each another and tentatively expose their feelings in subtle, guarded and tangential ways. Filled with self-loathing and deep insecurities, these two characters are expert at skirting around issues and putting on false facades.Unfortunately, such moments are few and far between. Though the film is riveting whenever it centres on its sibling relationship, it eventually degenerates into a sentimental melodrama, in which the duo's father slowly slips into dementia.Incidentally, the film's title offers multiple readings. It refers to the literal surname of Hoffman and Linney's characters, their fear of "becoming savages who neglect their father", and also the "savagery" of their father himself, who was an abusive, mean dad for most of their childhood lives. The film suggests that the duo's present dysfunctions are a result of their dad, but also that he's become a scapegoat who absorbs all blame.8/10 – Worth one viewing.

In Sun City, Arizona, the grumpy Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) has dementia and lives with his mate Doris Metzger (Rosemary Murphy). His son Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a professor of drama in Buffalo that is writing a book about Bertold Brecht. His daughter Wendy (Laura Linney) is a thirty-nine year-old freelancer and aspirant writer of screenplays for theater that lives in New York and has an affair with the middle-aged married man Larry (Peter Friedman). Wendy and Jon are estranged from their abusive father but when Doris dies, the siblings travel to the funeral and are surprised by her family that informs that Lenny must leave the house. Wendy and Jon bring Lenny to Buffalo and leave him in a nursing home. Along the days, they visit their father and try to improve his life."The Savages" is a pointless, unpleasant and bitter drama of dementia, family responsibilities and end of life. The performance of the charming Laura Linney and the outstanding Philip Seymour Hoffman are top-notch but the subject of this film is not attractive and Philip Bosco performs a non-charismatic character and when he dies in the end, the viewer feels absolute indifference. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "A Família Savage" ("The Savage Family")