The Savages: Still in Theaters

Dianne here. Liz and I saw The Savages yesterday afternoon and agree that it’s a “high five” (my term). This movie takes tragedy and makes us laugh, but not so much that we feel disrespectful watching a family deal with what so many of us Baby Boomers are going through: taking care of our aging parents.

In this case, the children, perfectly played by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, are estranged from their father when they get the call that someone needs to take care of him. Even though he abused them as children after their mother abandoned them, they rise to the occasion and do the best that they can.

It is clear that they’re not really showing up for their father, since he has dementia , but for each other and themselves. Forgiveness, after all, is the gift we give ourselves. I know I was touched, even though I’m not sure I could have done the same. Bravo to Tamara Jenkins for both writing and directing The Savages.