A critical review of the period film Savage House, which is faulted for being an overly derivative and ultimately tedious tribute to Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, despite strong technical elements and a committed cast.
Savage House , a period black comedy , draws frequent and deliberate comparisons to Stanley Kubrick 's Barry Lyndon through its visual style and sardonic narration. The film follows the chaotic and decaying fortunes of Sir Chauncey Savage, an ageing gambler and roué, and his much younger wife, Lady Savage.
Their desperate attempts to secure a visit from the Duke and Devonshire for a grand dinner expose their profound corruption and self-deception. Despite strong technical execution, including moody cinematography and solid supporting performances, the film's forced decadence and inauthentic dialogue make for a tedious and one-dimensional experience. The narrative centers on Sir Chauncey's financial ruin, achieved through persistent gambling even with loaded dice, and the sale of the same estate lands to multiple neighbors.
His physical ailments, like creeping gout, limit his predatory pursuits. Lady Savage, meanwhile, conducts a clandestine affair with a servant. Their shared goal of impressing the duke and duchess becomes a final, absurd gamble to restore their status, but the film dwells too long on repetitive scenes of debauchery before arriving at an inevitable conclusion. Director Peter Glanz clearly aims for a corrosive satire of 18th-century aristocracy, emulating Kubrick's meticulous composition and detached tone.
Cinematographer Adriano Goldman creates a visually compelling world of dimly lit Georgian interiors and deliberately painterly tableaux. The supporting cast, including notable character actors, embraces the material with relish.
However, the central premise proves thin, the humor grim and repetitive, and the characters remain superficial cartoons of vice. The relentless focus on squalor and pretense becomes wearying rather than insightful, leaving the film as a technically proficient but emotionally hollow echo of its influences
Savage House Film Review Barry Lyndon Stanley Kubrick Peter Glanz Period Drama Black Comedy Cinematography Satire Robert Bathurst
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