Laura Linney: Tribute + “The Savages”

Description

With many years still ahead of her, Laura Linney has thus far won two Golden Globe Awards and four Primetime Emmys. She has also received four Tony Award nominations, three Oscar nods, and a BAFTA nomination. It is an impressive list of accolades but one that also underlines her mastery of film, television, and the stage. Her breakthrough came on TV, when she first essayed the role of initially naïve, quick-study heroine Mary Ann Singleton in Tales of the City (1993), a character she would play three more times including in this year’s opening night Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Her cinematic breakthrough came in 1998, for her role as an unwitting reality TV star’s on-screen wife in The Truman Show. Two years later, she movingly inhabited the character of an overburdened single mom in You Can Count on Me (2000) and secured her first Oscar nomination. Roles in films like Mystic River (2003), Kinsey (2004), The Savages (2007), and Mr. Holmes (2015); TV series, such as John Adams (2008), The Big C (2010-13), and Ozark (2017-); plays like The Crucible (2002), Time Stands Still (2010), and The Little Foxes (2017) have followed, each revealing a new facet of Linney’s dazzling talent.

The Festival pays tribute to Linney with a conversation about her singular career and a screening of The Savages.

The Savages
Tamara Jenkins, USA, 2007, 113 min
Family ties have rarely been so fraught as they are in Tamara Jenkins’ acerbic and beautifully acted film. Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman are riveting as Wendy and Jon Savage, siblings who have been irrevocably damaged by their abusive father but are nevertheless reluctantly drawn into caring for him when he’s diagnosed with dementia. In addition to the masterful performances at its heart, the film is set in snowy Buffalo, where the wintry weather reflects the frosted-over emotions of a brother and sister trying to muddle through life the best way they can.

Director Tamara Jenkins

After getting her start as an actor and performance artist, Tamara Jenkins switched gears to filmmaking, attending the graduate program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. After making a pair of award-winning shorts, Jenkins made her feature debut with Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), an Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. Jenkins was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar and Best Director Independent Spirit Award and won the Best Screenplay Independent Spirit Award for her second film, The Savages (2007). She was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Director Independent Spirit Awards for her third feature, Private Life (2018).

Film Details