The Savages (film)

The Savages is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It stars Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Alexander Payne and Jenkins husband Jim Taylor were two of the executive producers. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.

Neither of the siblings are close with Lenny. It is implied that he was a physically and emotionally abusive father when Jon and Wendy were growing up and they cut him out of their lives. They were also abandoned by their mother at a young age. Their dysfunctional family life appears to have left Wendy and Jon emotionally crippled and unable to sustain a relationship. She is sleeping with an unattainable married manyears her senior and he cannot commit to a Polish woman who must return to Krakw after her visa expires.Their visits to the nursing home and their fathers eventual death allow them to reevaluate their lives and to grow emotionally. In the end, Wendy has broken up with her married lover, but has adopted his dog, which he had planned to put down. She is also seen working on the production of her play about their terrible childhood, while Jon is leaving for a conference in Poland where it is suggested he may reconnect with the woman he had let go. The film closes with Wendy running with her lovers dog alive, running with the aid of a wheeled hip cast, suggesting a mode of flawed yet persevering life for both siblings. ........

Source: Wikipedia