By Ed Koch
“The Savages” (+)
The ads for this movie attempt to brighten its subject matter by conveying that it is full of dark humor. I did not detect much humor in the film, which is sometimes difficult to watch, but in the end, I felt as though I had seen a work of art.
Wendy (Laura Linney), a dowdy 39-year-old woman who lives in Manhattan’s East Village, is a hopeful playwright who is having an affair with her married neighbor, Larry (Peter Friedman). Their relationship is clearly physical, with no love or charm involved on either side. Wendy’s older brother, Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a college professor who lives in Buffalo, is going through his own emotional struggles. He is breaking up with his live-in girlfriend, Kasia (Cara Seymour), who is moving back to Poland because her visa is expiring.
Wendy and Jon’s father (Philip Bosco), who has been showing signs of dementia, lives in a condo in Sun City, Arizona, that is owned by his girlfriend. When his girlfriend dies, he is left without a place to live since her children want to sell the home which is their inheritance.
How Jon and Wendy cope with their dementia-plagued father, which is a very uncomfortable situation, makes up the balance of the movie. The story is very affecting, because it rings true and is applicable to so many families. The final scene — an attempt to brighten things up – injures the film rather than helps it. A happy ending is always hoped for by an audience but for many, regrettably, it is a myth. The acting of everyone is extraordinary.
HS said: “The movie is not a comedy, nor even a tragicomedy. It is a preview of the end of life, a situation which faces us all. The message is that those who drop dead with their faculties intact are better off than those who lose their minds before their bodies fail. Their children are also better off. ‘The Savages,’ the name of the family in the movie, are not savage at all. They had been estranged from their irascible father, but still want to do the right thing. The film is well-written, well-acted, and worth seeing, if only as a preview of what may lie ahead. Cheers.”
“Atonement” (+)
This film, based on the successful novel by Ian McEwan, is disappointing but worth seeing. In opens in 1935 at the British mansion of the very wealthy Tallis family. The daughter, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), is in love with Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), son of a housekeeper working on the estate, Grace (Brenda Blethyn). Robbie, who is supported by the Tallis family, attends a good school and participates in the family’s dinners and gatherings. He is also the heart’s desire of Cecilia’s 13-year-old sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan).
One day Briony out on the moors witnesses a sexual incident. Embarrassed by the moment, she later lies, and as a result Robbie is sent to prison. When World War II begins, he is given an opportunity to enlist and leave prison which he decides to do.
The role of Briony at the age of 18 is played by Romola Garai. During the war she is a nurse in a London military hospital. At the movie’s conclusion, Vanessa Redgrave portrays Briony as a woman at the end of her life expressing her regrets. That scene alone is worth the price of admission.
Interspersed throughout the movie are newsreels of the war. An effort is made to recreate the escape of the British Army and their allies, some French and Polish soldiers, fleeing Dunkirk. I found these scenes to be the most interesting and moving parts of the picture.
“Atonement” received four-star reviews from several critics, which I don’t think it deserves. The performances of all the actors are excellent, but I have seen many British war films that provided much more entertainment. It’s a good picture, but in my opinion, it doesn’t reach the heights that it could have, and from the comments of some who have read McEwan’s novel, it doesn’t adequately display the book’s action and range of emotions.
