Savages (2012 film)

Savages is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by Oliver Stone. It is based on Don Winslow's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Shane Salerno, Stone, and Winslow. The film was released on July 6, 2012 to mixed reviews, and stars Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Benicio del Toro, Demián Bichir, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Emile Hirsch and Blake Lively.

Savages
Theatrical release poster
Directed byOliver Stone
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based onSavages
by Don Winslow
Starring
Music byAdam Peters
CinematographyDan Mindel
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • June 25, 2012 (2012-06-25) (Westwood)
  • July 6, 2012 (2012-07-06) (United States)
Running time
130 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$45 million[2]
Box office$83 million[3]

Plot

Best friends Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are marijuana growers in Laguna Beach, California. Chon, a former Navy SEAL, smuggled the seeds for the plants out of Afghanistan. Ben, a University of California, Berkeley graduate in business and botany, cultivates the marijuana. The seeds yield a particularly potent strain, which develops a wide customer base. Chon and Ben become wealthy, and Ben devotes time and money to charity work in Africa and Asia. They are both openly in a relationship with Ophelia Sage (Blake Lively).

The trio receives a video from Mexican drug-cartel enforcer Miguel "Lado" Arroyo (Benicio del Toro) of severed heads and a chainsaw, and Arroyo demands a meeting at which the cartel offers a partnership. Although Chon and Ben offer to hand over their network and get out of the business, the cartel wants their expertise and insists on a partnership. Chon and Ben make plans with Ophelia to go to Indonesia for a year, not telling her that they are fleeing the cartel. They speak to corrupt DEA agent Dennis Cain (John Travolta), who is on the take from them and who urges them to join the cartel. Ophelia is kidnapped by Lado's gang; Chon and Ben are notified of the kidnapping by a video call from cartel leader Elena Sánchez (Salma Hayek), who threatens to harm Ophelia if they decline the partnership.

They discuss the situation with Dennis, who tells them that Elena is facing the loss of her political connections in Mexico (foiling her efforts to move into the US). Since she has already lost most of her family, Dennis says that he has nothing on her that can help them. Chon stabs Dennis in the hand and demands DEA intelligence so they can attack Elena. With help from Chon's Navy SEAL friends, he and Ben attack a cartel money convoy and kill seven of Elena's men.

Ophelia, held in horrible conditions, demands to speak to whoever is in charge. Lado drugs and rapes her in retaliation for going over his head. Elena, traveling to the US to visit her daughter and deal with the escalating situation, has Ophelia brought with her. Chon and Ben frame high-ranking cartel member Alex (Demián Bichir) as an agent of Elena's rival, El Azul. With Dennis' help, they falsify evidence and give it to Lado. Lado tortures Alex to force a confession. After Alex confesses, Lado covers him with petrol and forces Ben to ignite the petrol; Ophelia is forced to watch. Lado double-crosses Elena and begins working with El Azul.

Ben and Chon pay Dennis $3 million for information about Elena's daughter, Magda (Sandra Echeverria), and the name of his informant in Elena's cartel. They kidnap Magda and video-call Elena to establish that they are now in control. With Elena at their mercy, they arrange a desert meeting to exchange Ophelia and Magda at which snipers from both sides are in position. Elena asks who revealed her daughter's location, and Chon tells her it was Lado. She tries to kill Lado, but he shoots her first; a firefight erupts, and Chon is shot several times. Lado is shot in the back by Ben, but shoots him in the neck before Ophelia kills him. Ben is mortally wounded, and Chon injects him, Ophelia and himself with a fatal overdose so they can die together.

Ophelia wakes from a nightmare. At the meeting, Lado steals Elena's car and escapes as Dennis leads DEA agents to the scene. Everyone but Lado and Magda are arrested. Because Ben has incriminating information about Dennis, Dennis identifies Ben and Chon as his informants in the cartel and they are released. Elena is sentenced to thirty years in prison, and El Azul and Lado create a new cartel called the Azulados. Ben, Chon and Ophelia leave the country and live in a beachside hut, possibly in Indonesia. Ophelia tells us that they are living like savages.

Cast

Production
We had two weeks rehearsal, so we talked about it until we were about to pass out. I think I had known Blake for three or four days, before we shot [those scenes]. That was the first week of shooting. It was just about trusting Blake and Oliver, like you do on any set. I was just glad it was over with, to be honest. It's very awkward to do. It's such a big part of Chon and who he is. That's how you meet him, so it's a pretty intense reveal, no pun intended. It's all part of it, but I was glad it was in the first week.

—Kitsch on shooting the sex scenes[4]

By August 2011, the film was shooting in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times reported: "The estate's indoor pool was converted into a massive hydroponic marijuana farm for the film's production, with about 300 high-octane pot plants jamming the covert nursery."[5] Production designer Tomas Voth, said: "I wanted to use real plants and had them all ready to go, but it was some legal thing. Universal told us to use fakes."[5] The sex scenes were filmed during the first three days.[6] The film entered post-production in October 2011.

Casting

Jennifer Lawrence was originally cast as Ophelia but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.[7] Other actresses considered to replace Lawrence included Amber Heard, Olivia Wilde, Lindsay Lohan, Teresa Palmer, and Abbie Cornish.[8] In April 2011, it was reported that Blake Lively had been cast as Ophelia.[9] Before casting Taylor Kitsch in the film, Oliver Stone asked director Peter Berg to show him 30 minutes of Kitsch's work in Battleship to see how he was as a leading man, and after seeing that footage, he cast him.[10] Trevor Donovan originally auditioned for a role that was cut but after seeing Donovan's tape, Stone specifically wrote him a part that was not in the book.[11] Uma Thurman played Ophelia's mother, Paqu, but her scenes were cut due to time constraints.[12]

Release

The film was released on July 6, 2012. On its opening weekend, the film ranked fourth at the box-office, earning $16.2 million.[13] As of April 3, 2013, it has grossed $47,382,068 in North America and $35,584,084 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $82,966,152.[3]

Home media

Savages was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 13, 2012. (extended version 142 min)

Reception

Critical reception
The red-carpet premiere at Fox Village Theater on June 25, 2012.

Savages received mixed reviews from critics. Based on 190 reviews collected by aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored a 51% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.71/10. The site's critical consensus is, "It's undeniably messy, but Savages finds Oliver Stone returning to dark, fearlessly lurid form."[14] Metacritic, another review aggregator which assigns a weighted mean rating in the 0–100 range based on reviews from top mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 59, based on 41 reviews, which indicates "Mixed or average reviews".[15]

The film was somewhat better received in Europe. UK film and music journalist Dylan B Jones praised it, claiming director Oliver Stone had found "a magic strain of sultry sex, frantically emotional turmoil and glossily savvy action sequences".

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars (out of four) and praised Oliver Stone's direction, saying, "Much of the fascination of 'Savages' comes through Stone's treatment of the negotiations, which involve percentages, sliding scales over three years, an ultimate payout, and other financial details that drugs have in common with big business. It's spellbinding to watch the two sides trying to outthink each other."

HitFix's film critic Drew McWeeny gave the film an A- and called it "one of the most complete pleasures for me this summer". He was in general positive of the actors' performances; he described Lively's work as "smart and sad precisely because she plays O as such a broken, needy little soul" and praised the bond between Kitsch and Taylor-Johnson which "seems not only credible but lived in and authentic throughout the film."[16] In comparison, MovieFix's film critic Connor Jason gave the film 2/5, noting that "Savages is a hot mess – beautiful actors and locations mixed with a plot that starts strong but ultimately turns into a snooze-fest. With a lead villain seemingly ripped from the cover of Cosmo magazine, Stone's latest flick savagely disappoints."[17]

The film was nominated at the 2012 ALMA Awards in four categories including "Favorite Movie Actor", "Favorite Movie Actress—Drama/Adventure", "Favorite Movie Actor—Supporting Role", and "Favorite Movie Actress—Supporting Role" for Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demián Bichir and Mia Maestro, respectively.[18]

According to InSight Crime, the assertions used to promote the movie "are not only false, but promote a dangerously misleading view of the country's criminal groups." According to the article, in a televised interview Oliver Stone made a series of unfounded and false assertions to justify his opposition to the War on Drugs, fueling a "dystopian narrative of Mexico" and feeding on the belief that the Mexican criminals are "invincible supermen."[19]

gollark: Are you voice-typing?!
gollark: I don't think this contradicts my point.
gollark: You might think that it would be good to under ethical system #129124124, but human rights are defined by what governments happen to like, and governments sort of kind of vaguely like what the populace likes, and as it turns out most populaces disagree with bodily autonomy, so things.
gollark: I do by divine right, but that's not relevant.
gollark: Why would you think that?

References
  1. "SAVAGES (15)". British Board of Film Classification. August 17, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  2. Kaufman, Amy (July 5, 2012). "'Katy Perry,' 'Savages' will get caught in 'Spider-Man's' web". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  3. "Savages (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  4. Radish, Christina (July 4, 2012). "Taylor Kitsch Talks SAVAGES, Working with Oliver Stone and John Travolta, Filming Sex Scenes and Avoiding Green Screens". Collider. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  5. Horn, John (July 4, 2012). "Oliver Stone aims for a fresh hit with 'Savages'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  6. "Lively talks about sex scenes". Toronto Sun. Sun Media. June 19, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  7. Fleming, Mike (February 10, 2011). "Oscar Nominee Jennifer Lawrence In Talks For Oliver Stone's 'Savages'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  8. Jaugernauth, Kevin (March 28, 2011). "Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish & Teresa Palmer Reading For Oliver Stone's 'Savages'; Uni Picks Up Film". IndieWire. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  9. Bettinger, Brendan (April 21, 2011). "Blake Lively, John Travolta, and Uma Thurman Join Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson SAVAGES". Collider.com. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  10. Adam B. Vary (February 24, 2012). "Taylor Kitsch: His Make-Or-Break Year". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  11. Malkin, Marc (April 23, 2012). "Oliver Stone Wrote a Part in His New Movie for Who? (Hint: A 90210 Star!)". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  12. Michael Hogan (June 20, 2012). "Oliver Stone, 'Savages' Director, On Graphic Sex Scenes, The War On Drugs And Barack Obama". Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  13. Bell, Crystal (July 8, 2012). "'Amazing Spider-Man' Box Office: Spidey Makes $140 Million In 6 Days". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  14. "Savages (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  15. "Savages". Metacritic. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  16. McWeeny, Drew (June 30, 2012). "Review: Oliver Stone turns Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, and Blake Lively into 'Savages'". HitFix. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  17. Jason, Connor. "Review: A film worth savaging". Moviefix. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  18. Gratereaux, Alexandra (July 10, 2012). "2012 NCLR/ ALMA Awards Nominees Include Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull & Selena Gomez". Fox News. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  19. Corcoran, Patrick (July 11, 2012). "Oliver Stone Gets it Wrong on Mexico Drug War". InSight Crime. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
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