The Savages (2007)

Directed by: Tamara Jenkins

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Wendy (Laura Linney) and John Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) find themselves having to come together as siblings despite a troubled past to care for their ailing father Lenny (Philip Bosco).

Featured Feline: Wendy owns a female tabby cat named Genghis who is first seen sitting beside Wendy’s answering machine in her apartment.

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis sitting by phone in dark apartment

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis sitting by phone in dark apartment with Wendy Laura Linney

Kitty Cameo: Wendy receives a message from the family of her father’s girlfriend telling them that their mother has died. When Wendy and John visit they learn the family will no longer allow Lenny to live in the house, so they have to bring him to a nursing home in New York. As they enter the care facility, the nurse points out a long-haired gray cat named Winston whom they call The Mayor.

The Savages - long haired gray cat Winston running

Wendy talks on the phone to her neighbor Larry (Peter Friedman), a married man whom she has been sleeping with. He is lying in Wendy’s apartment with his dog and Genghis.

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis lying on bed with Larry Peter Friedman

Larry holds the phone up so Wendy can hear Genghis purring.

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis lying on bed with phone held up

Later Larry drives up to John’s apartment where Wendy is staying. He brings Genghis in a carrier.

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis in carrier with Wendy Laura Linney

The two have a falling out and Wendy storms away, taking Genghis into the nursing home in the carrier. John protests but Wendy points out that the home likes animals and she has Genghis’ papers to prove she’s had her shots. Wendy tries to introduce her father to Genghis but the pillow she gave him is missing, leading to an ugly scene between Wendy and another resident.

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis in carrier in nursing home

Wendy goes outside with Genghis and meets one of the care workers named Jimmy (Gbenga Akinnagbe). He asks what’s in the box and she answers, “A cat.” “Taking it out for a walk?” Jimmy asks. He points out the cat is cold and the two go to sit in Jimmy’s van where he pets Genghis.

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis sitting on lap of Jimmy Gbenga Akinnagbe in van

Genghis stays at the nursing home where Wendy feeds her and where she sits on Lenny’s bed.

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis on table in nursing home with Wendy Laura Linney

The Savages - tabby cat Genghis on bed in nursing home

Sometime later John gets a call to say that Genghis has had a fight with Winston and they want her removed from the facility. Wendy arrives at the home to find Jimmy trying to coax Genghis out from beneath a couch. They talk while they wait for the cat to emerge, which she eventually does.