Overview
Two estranged siblings confront their troubled past when family duty calls them back to their abusive father.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- bittersweet
- witty
- melancholic
- reflective evening
- family drama marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed the film's tender, funny, nuanced portrait of family bonds, led by Tamara Jenkins's screenplay and strong performances from Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The siblings' arguments, caregiving frustrations, and encounters with institutional life repeatedly generate humor without dissolving the underlying pain.
Jon and Wendy must arrange care for their father after his dementia leaves him unable to live independently.
Both siblings struggle with personal demons and adult difficulties linked to their abusive father.
Jon is a literature professor and Wendy writes about her life, while both use intellectual and creative identities to manage unresolved family trauma.
Films like The Savages, and why
The Squid and the Whale
shared bittersweet family drama, sibling tension, caregiving responsibilities, and understated dark humor
Rachel Getting Married
shared intimate dysfunctional-family focus, emotional realism, and comedy emerging from painful domestic conflict
Away from Her
shared adult siblings confronting parental decline, melancholic humor, and nuanced family bonds
The Royal Tenenbaums
shared literary sensibility, uncomfortable family obligations, and dry tragicomic treatment of emotional damage
Movie Details
- Director
- Tamara Jenkins
- Release Date
- 2007-11-28
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (453)
Cast
- Laura Linney
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Philip Bosco
- Peter Friedman
- David Zayas
- Gbenga Akinnagbe
- Cara Seymour
- Tonye Patano
- Guy Boyd
- Debra Monk
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Savages about?
- Estranged siblings are forced to care for their difficult, dementia-stricken father, reopening old wounds while negotiating the uneasy obligations of family.
- What is The Savages like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Savages as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Savages violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Savages as mild.
- What did critics think of The Savages?
- Critics broadly acclaimed the film's tender, funny, nuanced portrait of family bonds, led by Tamara Jenkins's screenplay and strong performances from Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
- Which films are like The Savages?
- Films with a similar feel include The Squid and the Whale, Rachel Getting Married, Away from Her, and The Royal Tenenbaums.
- How long is The Savages?
- The Savages runs 114 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Savages?
- In United States, The Savages is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
