I've always been a little grateful that I grew up with spina bifida. I was practically raised in an inner-city hospital where Black nurses became maternal figures, physicians from around the world fought like hell to save my life, and physical differences were embraced early on.
Well, wait a minute. Of course, there's also the fact I grew up in a cult that preached only 144,000 would go to heaven after Armageddon. We didn't so much hate everyone else as we just sort of pitied them. Truth be told, as a wheelchair user I've never been particularly fond of tall people. Actually, they piss me off. I mean, I'm proud of the fact that I don't really have a lot of biases and stereotypes, but if one more ableist do-gooder pats me on my shoulders and says "You're a hero, honey!," I'm about to cut their arms off.
The Saviors is a convicting mind-fuck of a film, a film that sees the truth and calls it out practically daring you to challenge that truth.
The film stars Adam Scott and Danielle Deadwyler as Sean and Kim Harrison, a once in love couple on the verge of divorce who are currently stuck in place until they can accumulate the cash to pay off their mortgage and move on. They decide to rent out their garage as an AirBnB to a couple of seemingly normal siblings from the Mideast, Amir (Theo Rossi) and Jahan (Nazanin Boniadi), the latter who is also deaf.
Paranoia in suburbia is the name of the game with The Saviors, though it's a paranoia grounded in culturally relevant and timely cultural biases that nearly all of us possess in one way or another. In case you haven't caught on, the Harrisons are a more progressive interracial couple even if their marriage is severely frayed. Renting to a Muslim couple is a no-brainer, though we quickly learn that Sean is more than a little influenced by his conspiracy theorist parents (Ron Perlman and Colleen Camp) along with his slightly bonkers yet generally delightful sister Cleo (Kate Berlant, a film highlight).
The Saviors is directed by Kevin Hamedani and co-penned by Hamedani and Travis Betz. Hamedani and Betz do a nice job of balancing the story's domestic and universal narratives, the crumbling Harrison marriage practically mirroring Sean's fraying mentality and ever-increasing paranoia about his normal guests turned questionable.
Scott and Deadwyler complement one another quite nicely, gravitas and intimacy tinged with dark humor. We easily believe they were once a happy couple. We also completely believe they're now falling part. We really believe their increasing reality that a common enemy can sometimes bridge the widest gaps as conspiracy theories grow and their marriage seems a little more cohesive.
On the sibling side of things, I was completely consumed by the strangeness and the tenderness of Rossi's Amir and Boniadi's Jahan. Rossi, in particular, completely captivates the screen and lures you in to his possibly strange, possibly normal world. While The Saviors never hits with quite the edge that it could have, it still manages to play hard in this world that we live in and in the simple fact that both liberals and conservatives haven't really learned much of anything.
It's always a delight to see Greg Kinnear pop up, and he's definitely a key ingredient in the film's darker, slightly wackier sense of humor. As a private detective and Cleo's lover, Kinnear's hair is practically a character unto itself and Kinnear is somehow both sober and slightly off-kilter. I'll say until my daying days that Kinnear is one of America's least appreciated actors, and he proves here once again.
Of course, we can't forget about the spot-on brilliance that is Kate Berlant, a scene-stealer from beginning to end here. As zany as she can get, Berlant also gives a disciplined performance that dials in the soul of a conspiracy theorist who's still loyal to her family. It's a tremendous performance.
Finally, of course, in basically a one-scene camo both Perlman and Camp are humorous without ever turning into caricatures as is so often easy to do cinematically.
In short, Hamedani has himself a mighty fine ensemble.
The original music by Kyle O'Quin and Nick Shadel amplifies the film's Twilight Zone meets suburban thriller vibes. Lensing by Jon Keng weaves a cinematic tapestry that hits the paranoia without ever turning histrionic.
It's arguable that The Saviors could have had a bigger bite to it. In terms of my own issues, I'd have loved it if they'd managed to cast a deaf actress as Jahan (though, I must stress, Boniadi is wonderful) as I can't help but think that would have leaned in to their own messaging. However, minor quibbles aside, The Saviors, which made an appearance on The Black List in 2017, is a satisfying and thought-provoking dramatic thriller with a fantastic ensemble and ballsy-lite messaging that really couldn't be more timely and more necessary.
For the record, I still hate tall people.
Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic
