Savage (2012)

Directed by: Oliver Stone | 131 minutes | crime, drama, thriller | Actors: Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Benicio Del Toro, Shea Whigham, John Travolta, Demián Bichir, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch, Diego Cataño, Karishma Ahluwalia, Joaquín Cosio, Jonathan Carr, Antonio Jaramillo, Jake McLaughlin, Alexander Wraith, Anthony Cutolo

Oliver Stone is known as a committed filmmaker who does not shy away from examining the sometimes dubious role that the American government plays – within its own borders or in world politics. American presidents in particular are a favorite subject, if you look at his oeuvre which includes ‘JFK’ (1991), ‘Nixon’ (1995) and ‘W.’ (2008) on adornments. But every now and then Stone has had enough of politics and ventures into a completely different genre, that of raw crime thrillers. Years after ‘Natural Born Killers’ (1994) and ‘U-Turn’ (1997), things started to itch again and so Stone made ‘Savages’ (2012), a film that – as the title suggests – is raw, wild and is uncontrolled. Because Stone is still a director that every actor in Hollywood would like to work with, the director managed to gather an impressive cast around him. A cast that features young talent such as Blake Lively and Aaron Johnson side by side with experienced veterans such as John Travolta and Salma Hayek and proven actors such as Benicio Del Toro and Demián Bichir, offering something for everyone.

‘Savages’ makes no bones about it: narrator Ophelia (Blake Lively), who prefers to be called ‘O’, immediately indicates that the fact that she provides the story with commentary, does not mean that she will also make it to the credits. O is a typical blonde beach babe from California, who lives an idyllic life on the beach of Laguna Beach with her two lovers Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch). Opposites Ben (a peace-loving botanist) and Chon (a hardened war veteran who served in Afghanistan) once set up a weed business and have become so successful that an influential Mexican drug cartel has its eye on them. In no uncertain terms, they are presented with an offer to take over, which they had better accept, if they still want to be able to retell it. Where Ben prefers the diplomatic approach, excited Chon prefers direct confrontation. And he shouldn’t have done that, because the Mexicans won’t let themselves be messed with and take the graceful O as a hostage. If Ben and Chon don’t get over the bridge soon, they will hurt the two boys’ sweetheart and the images that reach them via the internet don’t promise much good…

It regularly gets heavy in ‘Savages’. Benicio Del Toro, in particular, can indulge in the role of the sadistic Lado, Elena’s main accomplice (great role by Salma Hayek), who leads the Mexican drug cartel after her husband and son were murdered. Certainly against newcomers Kitsch and Johnson, Del Toro gets plenty of room to profile itself (although the latter certainly shows that it has enough acting potential). Maybe a little over the top at times, but that doesn’t bother at all, because it’s always looking forward to a scene with the ruthless Lado. ‘Savages’ is on the long side with its 131 minutes, but thanks to the solid tempo that Stone maintains, you don’t notice it for a single moment. Those 131 minutes are largely filled with a series of accelerated montages, alternations between color and black-and-white and more style tricks. Stone has clearly had a blast with this film and pulled out all the stops. The style tricks are sure to appeal to fans of Quentin Tarantino’s work. The fact that John Travolta, who managed to revive his career thanks to Tarantino, appears in the small but crucial role of a corrupt narcotics cop, will also appeal to them.

‘Savages’ needs some time to get going and doesn’t really offer anything new, because we’ve seen everything that comes along before. Stone also felt it necessary to come up with two different endings, as if he couldn’t choose between the two alternatives. In doing so, he detracts from what he built up earlier, but it does match the character of ‘Savages’, which is full of those kinds of tricks and attempts. Since it’s Stone, he gets away with it anyway. Although that is certainly also due to the reasonable (Lively, Kitsch) to excellent (Del Toro – more films from this man please!) acting, the nice tempo and associated with a fine build-up of tension, the matching soundtrack and the pleasant intensity with which we be treated.