There must be an unwritten rule somewhere that states if a movie opens with two hot, racy sex scenes back-to-back, the audience should absolutely expect a film that tops all of their expectations – especially when the movie is the brainchild of the genius Oliver Stone.
I must have not been keen to that unwritten rule, because what followed with Savages was surely out of my range of expectations.
With a sunny California hot blonde played by Gossip Girl‘s Blake Lively, it all seemed to be something that has hit the silver screen before, until the narrative voiceover reminds us that she may not live to see the end of her sunny Laguna days.
Almost instantaneously, the unconventional love story, drilled from Don Winslow’s bestselling novel, draws the viewers in.
Chon (played by former Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch) is the Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary with a bad boy edge, tattooed arms and violent ways to match. Ben (played by Brit actor Aaron Johnson) is the opposite of Chon, a peaceful Berkley grad who is prized for his knowledge of botany. The opposites have two things that link them, their unadulterated love of weed, and their love for O, their shared girlfriend played by Blake Lively.
And that isn’t even where things get interesting.
Most threesomes are reserved for wild nights, but with Ben, Chon and O, there is a love triangle sans the dramatics, with love equally distributed between Ben and Chon by the ever-faithful O.
Initially, the connection between the three is a bit uncomfortable for viewers, but its central theme to the movie is what makes the love story one like nothing that has ever hit the big screen before.
Ben and Chon’s clean, flourishing weed business is at its height, grown with the finest seeds smuggled straight from Afghanistan; their crop monopolizes the California pot population, and the Mexican drug cartel wants in.
The sunny skies of Laguna soon become a dark place for Chon, Ben and O, as the cartel closes in on their comfort space and the soda-gulping FBI agent they thought was on their side (played by John Travolta) starts to betray his ulterior motives.
Salma Hayek seamlessly transitions into La Madrina of the cartel, Elena, who relentlessly calls the orders of the cartel, while harvesting a soft spot that later becomes the turning point in the film.
Once O is kidnapped by the cartel, the character transitions take charge and the story becomes less about the drugs and more about the raw emotion that surfaces once people find the things they love the most on the line.
The unadulterated gore associated with the drug cartel is omnipresent throughout the film, but there is something about the gore, unconventional love triangle and impeccable casting that makes the journey one filled with emotion and a surprisingly healthy dose of laughter.
Savages is the story of a drug lord imposing onto another dealer’s territory, told with a twist. The on-screen transition of characters from civilians to savage speaks volumes and leaves the audience pondering on the true meaning of the film’s title; asking themselves “would you become a savage for love?”
Be sure to check out the movie when it hits the big screen tomorrow, you don’t want to miss it.
