Savage Grace

Savage Grace (2007)

Directed by Tom Kalin

This film follows the lives of a group of very rich and very agitated Americans living abroad over a two-decade period. Barbara (Julianne Moore) is a bored, angry – this is the word of the day, by the way – housewife who is upset about her boring and even angrier husband, Brooks (Stephen Dillane). That the reasons for their great wealth and great anger is never revealed is the least of Savage Grace's problems. The actors give mediocre performances, but to their credit they do their best to make the script, which features shoddy dialogue that is difficult to deliver, at least presentable.

The film's biggest offense is its inability to make these characters interesting. There is no real conflict, no real reason why we need to be following these spoiled characters who lounge about waxing strange philosophy and, when the need arises, engaging in passionless sex amongst Barbara, her shy, bisexual son, Tony (Eddie Redmayne), and his boyfriend. There are a number of creepy moments, but the awkward staging of those scenes renders them ineffective. There is one memorable moment in which Moore, who seems to finally, if briefly, find a connection with her character, lashes out against her husband who has been having an affair – though this is never shown - with Tony's ex-girlfriend. The characters in Savage Grace live in a perpetual state of unhappiness; we, on the other hand, are more than ready to move on.

Rating: 2

First Viewed: 5/21/08
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