The Savages

I don't think Ferret really liked this movie but I think it was mainly due to an error of communication. Before watching, I told him I thought it was a black comedy. As everyone except Ferret knows, black comedy means dark humor and does not necessarily mean it is a comedy featuring black people. Anyway, I can see how it might be confusing to watch this movie if you were expecting Martin Lawrence to pop out at any moment. The movie was basically about two adult siblings coming together to care for their demented (literally, a man with dementia) father. It is mostly about their relationship with each other and themselves, with a small peppering of their relationships with other people. Laura Linney reestablishes her place as one of the people I most like to see in movies even though her character was so unsympathetic and ridiculous. I think it is due to her skill as an actress that you actually want to know more about her and what becomes of her. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays her brother and does a great job as her foil. In the end you see there are actually more similarities between them than differences and to get to the point, it ends with a nice happy note so don't worry that it's all depressing or anything like that. Rate: ****