Watch this when
The Savages
He wasn't there for them growing up. Now they're choosing his nursing home. Both things are true.
Who it's for
Few films deal honestly with the practical, unglamorous side of caring for a declining parent: paperwork, nursing-home tours, guilt, and the siblings who handle it differently.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Written and directed by Tamara Jenkins, this 2007 comedy-drama follows siblings Wendy (Laura Linney), a struggling playwright, and Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a theatre professor, who have been estranged from their father Lenny (Philip Bosco) for years. When Lenny begins declining into dementia and his longtime girlfriend dies, they travel to Sun City, Arizona, and learn he has no claim to her home.
Where to find it
Rent or buy on major digital stores. Streaming availability rotates; check JustWatch.
Before you start
Heads up: A parent's dementia and death.
Age: R (some sexuality, language)
the best way out is always through.Robert Frost, “A Servant to Servants,” North of Boston
