In the end, the caveat and advantage of “The Savages” is that it’s in its core just a showcase for the talents of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, and that’s not completely a bad thing, since “The Savages” is a good film in its own right with some familiar shades of the grit and realism of “The Squid and the Whale.” Jenkin’s film is more here about childhood grudges, unresolved trauma, and children learning to part with their dad in spite of his horrible parenting. Wendy is a woman who coasts from job to job and is unable to find a stable relationship, which is shown in her affair with a man she doesn’t particularly like or even enjoy being around, but his company is all she needs because she fears seclusion.

On the other end, there’s Jon, her older and grumpy big brother called from his own life of troubled relationships to care for their dad who is forced out of his home after his girlfriend dies. “The Savages” is the re-uniting of a brother and sister who almost purposely seemed to disconnect as they aged for fear that old wounds may re-open. Their dichotomy is that of the two toned angles of children facing the deterioration of their parents however horrible they were. Wendy refuses to let go of her dad even in spite of her knowledge of how he treated them, while Jon is realistic and in many ways cynical about the life he will soon be leading. Both of them though see themselves in one another which is why they act more as acquaintances than family.

Who in this duo is opting for their dad’s care, the cynical Jon or Wendy who insists in staying firmly in a state of denial? “The Savages” teeters from drama to comedy and really does create a comfortable hybrid with some genuinely humorous moments but never opts to destroy the themes of abuse and neglect. Jenkins only really hints at the abuse suffered from the siblings and really does leave it to us to decide if their father is a man who deserved to be shipped off to a nursing home, in the end.

And while we view this constant antagonism between the two, we wonder if they’ll ever come of age and confront the fact that they will never be able to come to terms with their childhood, a constant demon that keeps them from growing up and admitting their age and the possibility that their fantastic aspirations may be out of their grasps. Jenkins provides a strong dissection of the brother and sister dynamic while also putting the talents of Linney and Hoffman on display, and it comes close to greatness.

Jenkins’ dramedy never quite worked for me as well as I wanted it to, and that’s mainly due to the familiarity it inspires with a story that closely resembles other titles like “Dad” and “The Squid and the Whale.” In fact Jenkins sometimes borders so closely to cribbing from “The Squid and the Whale” that it’s awfully tiresome. Whether or not she was hoping to make this a companion piece is still an interesting question to ask, but the film never reaches that height of excellence, nor does the realism ever elevate it above simply being an okay movie.

“The Savages” can sometimes feel like it’s only intent is to showcase the talents of Hoffman and Linney, and nothing more, thus it feels too much like an off-Broadway play where the actors strive for golden moments of pure acting prowess and really come off forced. The two simply have not very chemistry with one another, and as brother and sister they’re hard to really take seriously. They have nothing that makes us believe that they’re related, let alone have suffered hardships; instead they come off as pure strangers which works against them rather than acting as an indicator of how much they’ve grown apart. There are fleeting moments when the unspoken character trait shines, but beyond that they don’t click as brother and sister. I wanted to love “The Savages,” and in the end I just didn’t. It’s fair enough.

Jenkins film is never a home run, as much as I wanted it to be. While it can display purely beautiful moments of childhood trauma, and wandering figures struggling for a direction, Hoffman and Linney sadly never click, in spite of their strong performances.

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