Oliver Stone has a flair for the controversial. Whether it was the embellished truth behind a presidential assassination in 'JFK' or the hyper violent portrayal of two mass murderers in 'Natural Born Killers'. In recent years Stone's films seem to be less harsh. Which was never more apparent than with 'W.', which went suprisingly soft on its main character George W. Bush.
With 'Savages' the veteran director returns to his violent sensibilities. Revolving around two succesful pot growers who are forced to strike a deal with a Mexican drug cartel. When Ben and Chon want out the Mexicans, led by Elena, kidnap the love of both their lives O. The dealers are forced to put aside their principles and do everything to get O out of the hands of the cartel.
The best performance in the film belongs to Benicio Del Toro, whose character Lado is the biggest son of a bitch you'll see in any movie this year. He's an overweight pervert with a pornstache and the worst case of eighties hair you've ever seen. He shoots and tortures for fun and he'll betray anyone if it means he'll do better business. Del Toro dissappears into his role and gives us one hell of a creepy bastard.
John Travolta delivers another enjoyable performance as the corrupt DEA agent Dennis. He weasels his way in and out of partnerships with Elena, Lado and Ben and Chon. The latter two are played rather well by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Taylor Kitsch. They manage to hold on to our sympathies even though they commit some gruesome acts in order to save their girl. Blake Lively's O on the other hand seems a little detached from reality, which might or might not be due to years of drug use.
Salma Hayek succesfully walks the line between tragedy and villainy. Elena's a widow who inhereted her husband's drug empire. She's lost many of her children and tries to keep the remaining two out of harm's way. This is the weak spot which Ben and Chon so cleverly and ruthlessly exploit. Elena's reaction is desperate but human, which paints a fair but still pretty grim picture of humanity.
'Savages' is not for the faint of heart. As the title suggests there are some savage acts committed in this movie. There's one scene in particular which had this reviewer turning away from the screen, if only for a brief moment. It features a man being whipped mercilessly, not one part of his body is spared, not even his eyes. There's more moments of violence like this but none of them are so grueling.
Delicious is Oliver Stone's filmmaking prowess. His clever editing and use of sound and music is a wonder to behold. Like his acclaimed work on 'JFK' and 'Nixon' he blends a documentary style with the traditional way of Hollywood storytelling. This approach continues to serve Stone well and the movie runs at a breakneck speed while still being easy to follow. In short, 'Savages' is a return to form for Oliver Stone.
