The Savages ****

When the surname of the family in question is "Savage," you don't expect a comedy. And you'd be right. I'm a little puzzled by the comedy/drama genre some have assigned to this picture. There are funny moments, yes, quite a few, but the portrayal of the Savages by writer/director Tamara Jenkins is no laughing matter.

Grown-up siblings Wendy (Laura Linney) and Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) must deal with their familial responsibilities as their father (Philip Bosco) slips into dementia. And as they learn about nursing homes and Medicare coverage they begin to learn something about themselves. Why do neither of them, both forty-ish, have a partner? What does their father mean to them now? How do they deal with the memories of how he treated them as children? How do they deal with the guilt and the guilt-mongers?

Hoffman, as a Bertolt Brecht scholar, is outstanding in this role. He has the manner of a quick-witted scholar, and the weariness of someone who fears he may have chosen a too-narrow field. His delivery of the dialog with his sister, from Tamara Jenkins' excellent script, tells us what they must have been like growing up together. And Laura Linney matches his performance. I am amazed at how Linney inhabits her roles, each one a carefully drawn individual. For my money, she is up there with Meryl Streep, and, like Streep, she has chosen a wide range of roles, and more often than not, chosen well. And in this movie, it is Wendy Savage who makes the longest journey, and it's wonderful to watch Linney help us understand her.

This movie, already nominated for several awards, could get attention from Oscar for Hoffman, Linney, and Jenkins, so it might hang around a little longer and even expand beyond its present 111 screens.

Rated R. 113 minutes. Produced and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.