The Savages (2007)

Watching someone take the slow boat to crazy town is almost always a great way to spend two hours. Here Laura Linney does a fantastic job refusing to believe that her father is old and dying while brother Philip Seymor Hoffman just tries to keep everything afloat. It makes for some good drama alongside a decent number of amusing gags, but as common an experience as death is the film never quite finds a perfect stride, instead settling for a hearty pile of excellent scenes on top of dull scenes, sprinkled with outstanding performances all around. It's a very earnest film about a parent's declining heath's effect on the children, and the chemistry and neuroses that Hoffman and Linney keep in common create a very believable sibling relationship. What you get is a film that is compelling from start to finish, but through some flaw or trick of the screenplay still manages to keep you at arm's length. That's probably just fine, as more vicious bickering and in-fighting might have spoiled Linney's exceptional work here as a woman in denial. All said, this is a great film about one of life's hardest trials.

8 out of 10.