THE SAVIORS is an accomplished debut from Kevin Hamedani that pivots on engaging performances, chiefly from Adam Scott. Although it has interesting things to say about xenophobia, suspicion, and acceptance, it holds its most interesting cards in reserve for a hand it never ends up playing.
Sean (Adam Scott) and Kim (Danielle Deadwyler) are a married couple nearing separation, who rent out their guest house to brother-sister pair Amir (Theo Rossi) and Jahan (Nazanin Boniadi). Against the backdrop of Sean’s casually racist parents (Ron Perlman and Colleen Camp) and sister, Cleo (Kate Berlant), their suspicion of their guests grows. Mysterious flashing lights, strange schematics and blueprints in Arabic script arriving by post, odd behaviour, and a suspicion that Jahan’s deafness is false contribute to a feeling they may not be what they seem.
The script from Hamedani and co-writer Travis Betz is well observed on the topic of liberal hypocrisy. Sean castigates the racism and xenophobia displayed by his relatives (no more so than when his father presents a leaflet for a far-right group, Patriot Dawn), but never especially forcefully, and he slips into the same thinking, however apologetically. Adam Scott also does an excellent job of conveying the intoxicating nature of the curtain-twitching suburban paranoia he can then engage in. Theo Rossi and Nazanin Boniadi have a tricky job as Amir and Jahan, but manage to balance suspicious reticence and nervous vulnerability well. Boniadi also delivers a candidate for the creepiest humming of Seven Nation Army committed to record.
“The film has an interesting viewpoint on community in modern America[,] with the strength of community not relying on internal bonds but with how forcefully outsiders are excluded.”
The film has an interesting viewpoint on community in modern America. It is no coincidence that Sean and Kim breathe new life into their dwindling connection whenever they are engaging in spying on Amir and Jahan. Suspicion of ‘the other’ seems to draw them closer together, with the strength of community not relying on internal bonds but with how forcefully outsiders are excluded. That being said, when all four (married couple and sibling pair) socialise and have fun, the paranoia breaks down. The film takes time to show that the distrust melts away, even if temporarily, when all parties engage with each other as people, not avatars of their fear.
However, as the narrative develops, the film becomes indecisive about what type of story it wants to pursue. Greg Kinnear, as private detective Jim Clemente, feels especially at odds with the tone cultivated to that point. Even if his performance is amusing and memorable, it grates against the more patient and suspicious demeanour of the core cast, plucked from a more comedic or satirical film. However, despite that unevenness, THE SAVIORS finds moments to connect back to contemporary divisiveness, including the infamous “they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs” moment from Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. The clear underlying themes and the engaging central performances manage to keep the film moving along, even as a tonal unevenness starts to confuse the narrative.
“However, as the narrative develops, the film becomes indecisive about what type of story it wants to pursue.”
Where the film missteps more obviously is the baffling decision to hold back its biggest epiphanies until the very final moments, allowing them to disappear into the void. Most of the film thrives on how we contextualise the world and people around us, and the effect that has on our relationships with community and those close to us. Therefore, relegating its alternative perspective to a final revelatory aside leaves little room for the film to process the implications of those observations and close its own thematic loops. THE SAVIORS has no intention of going down the full RASHOMON route and dedicating time to alternate tellings. The script doesn’t need to take that approach, but the film’s lack of development of Amir and Jahan’s perspective feels like it sells Rossi and Boniadi short, as well as the film’s own objectives.
THE SAVIORS is an engaging twist on the themes of community, connection, and suspicion. Despite relegating its most innovative elements to an intriguing but stifled coda, the film’s own salvation is a thematically compelling narrative, layered with relatable performances.