Savages - Movie Review
Director: Oliver Stone
Writers: Shane Salerno, Don Winslow, Oliver Stone
Stars: Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, John Travolta
Savages is the story of two California stoners living the American Dream-they’ve made a ton of money dealing dope, and they’re doing whatever they please, high as kites, sharing a pretty girl, and living on the beach. Now that life is threatened by the real world, in the form of a Mexican cartel who wants to buy into their business.
This is the second movie I’ve seen in the last two weeks where being stoned is portrayed as socially acceptable-am I that out of touch? I’m having some trouble following the stoner logic: “We can be together anywhere-right here.” I guess it makes more sense with the addition of chemicals to your bloodstream . . .
This is an interesting movie in many ways. The plot is complex, with more twists than a slinky going down a flight of stairs. Better pay close attention, or you’ll lose track of who’s on which side. For the moment. Allegiances are complicated to begin with, and change at the drop of a hat.
The trouble is, I had a hard time finding anyone in this movie I cared about. You want to identify with someone in the movie. There were drug dealers on the one side versus . . . more drug dealers on the other. Are we supposed to like these guys just because they’re finally thinking about giving up the drug business after making millions at it? Or because they’re charitable (Ben) or have been through a lot (Chon)?
The ending rang a little off, but by the time the movie got there, I found I just didn’t care what happened to the characters. Any of them.
The entire movie is full of extreme violence-extreme and graphic violence-when that much money is involved, people can get scary. Benicio Del Toro is absolutely outstanding as the cartel’s enforcer-he gives a totally over-the-top performance of a scary as hell character-Lado is someone I would not want to meet. Ever. John Travolta is appropriately slimy, and acts entitled as hell-his inclusion brings to mind echoes of Pulp Fiction, even if he’s playing a totally different character here. Salma Hayek is steamy and sexy (in a cougary way) as she runs the Baja cartel with an iron fist-she doesn’t shy away from anything necessary to keep the business going-but the person behind the cartel jefe is less easy to understand. At least the actress seems to be having a good time.
Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, and Blake Lively give it everything they’ve got, playing the best-buddy drug dealers and their mutual girlfriend-but they’re missing that “little extra” that Del Toro and Travolta were pushing for. It resulted in a bit of unevenness.
Far and away the best scene in the movie is a confrontation between Travolta and Del Toro-it’s funny, creepy, and scary all at the same time, even as it emphasizes the movie’s underlying theme: who are the true savages? All of the characters thought the “other guys” were savages.
I didn’t think any of them were civilized.
Elektra Hammond
Buzzy Mag Editor & Reviewer
