Mistress at the Movies: Savages

It has been a while since I have done an installment of Mistress at the Movies. I’ve been wanting to but, alas, I just haven’t gotten around to it. However the movie I watched last night sparked an hour long conversation with the husband and I thought I might share.

Savages is your standard drug dealer gets into a pickle with a major cartel story. You know the one I am talking about. I will admit I was not thrilled to watch it. The husband picked it out and he is notorious for bringing home terrible rip-your-own-eyes-out-it’s-so-bad movies. Let’s just say I had my doubts. However within the first 5 minutes you could tell that there was something different about this movie. Where the standard formula is Dealer with the heart of gold + Lady friend / greedy cartel= good times, Savages deveated. Their adjusted formula was Dealer with the heart of gold + lady friend + Another dealer with a heart of gold / greedy drug cartel = good time. I know what you are thinking ‘Oh good gods! Not another love triangle!’ but that is where you are wrong. Because while there are three leads, in the entirety of the movie there was no rivalry or jealousy. These 3 characters were in a completely open, completely honest, completely inclusive polyamorous relationship. I watch a ton of movies. Well, a metric fuck-ton to be exact. Time and time and time and time again I see the “traditional” relationship dynamics on the screen. Most often it is man + woman. Sometimes it is man + man or woman + woman. If there is a 3rd character in the mix it is usually if not always an unfaithful lover, or the big decision the main character needs to make. “Do I love person A more than I love person B”. And in the end everyone is happy. (except usually person B). Only a few times have I seen the “non traditional” relationship dynamics. There have been movies that tried to tackle the subject of polyamory (Threesome). Of this small minority of movies most often the depiction relates to a religious backing for multiple wives (Ie.. Big Love, the King and I, etc). But when this subject is broached it is ALWAYS Man + woman + woman. Why? Because girl on girl has been the accepted exception to the rule. I think that is sad. Don’t get me wrong. I love girl on girl. (My porn collection can attest to that!) The few times I have seen a movie that encorperates 2 men and a woman have been clumsily done and it was quite obvious that the director had made cuts to make the movie more commercially viable. Savages didn’t. Within the first 5 minutes it is established yes, there is a dealer with a heart of gold played by Taylor Kitsch of John Carter notoriety, and yes there is the girl he loves (Blake Livey) but there is also another dealer with a heart of gold (the scrumptious Aaron Taylor-Johnson). They don’t fight. They don’t screw around behind each others backs. They aren’t jealous. They are simply happy. I liked that a lot. They don’t seek to justify the relationship, it simply is. Sure, others aren’t exactly sure what is going on. Is she with him or him, or both? But never once in the movie do they spell it out to these outsiders. And the impression that you get is that it is a VERY STRONG relationship. Both men love this woman but what is more, the men love each other. That is referenced by several of the outsiders. “Don’t fool yourself girl, those two love each other more than they love you.” Whereas it is perfectly obvious that the men do love the girl (the plot kind of hangs on that point) they do clearly love each other. Minus the swishy sterotypes. What a refreshing change! The movie itself is long (over 2 hours) and as I said a bit formulaic. However it was pretty well acted and did keep me entertained. The cinematography is decent to good and Oliver Stone's direction keeps the long story moving most of the time. Is it a cinematic masterpiece? No. However as many times as I have seen Drug Dealer Vs Cartel I had not seen this vision of it. And as I said it was a refreshing change of pace. Did I wish they would have pushed further? Well of course! There were a few times when they pulled their punches when it came to man-man love. However there was enough chemistry between the two male leads that I bought that there was a deep love there. I told my husband afterward that they finally made a movie that some of my poly friends might be able to relate to. Beyond the poly value there were other draws. I love me some Benicio Del Toro. And Selma Hyack is enough of a reason for me to watch in and of itself. However as talented as Benicio is and as hot as Selma is (yes, she is smokin!) it was the love of these 3 people that drives the movie. And I dug that. My only serious complaint (besides the need for a touch more editing to cut down the length of the movie) was the prop weed used. In this day in age there is no excuse for using brown tobacco and calling it weed. That little oversight started a 10 minute conversation between the husband and I about what was being smoked. Was it hash? However the living plants looked tasty as hell so I forgave them their tobacco faux pas. If you are interested in seeing a different take on the usual then check out Savages.