An open letter to Oliver Stone, the director of Savages

Oliver,

I don’t ever think I’ve seen a movie about drug dealers like Savages as the two leads, Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), were philosophically enlightened and rather unconventional.

For starters, Ben is a university graduate. With his degrees in business and botany, he could be elsewhere making a decent living. Instead he grows, to quote the movie, “the best cannabis in the world” and with the proceeds, flies to third world countries to make a difference. A drug dealer who’s an idealist? Such complexity hasn't been exhibited by a character since Tupac.

“I had orgasms, he had wargasms.”

Ben’s partner and long-time friend, Chon, also draws intrigue. He’s the by-product of two Iraq tours. In the drug operation, Chon smuggles the pot seeds and handles the uncivilised part of business. “You are dead the second you are born,” he says, and somehow this outlook liberates him from the moral burden of killing someone. Alongside Ben, he makes for an interesting contrast and the two form an unusual synergy. Thankfully you tie the two different characters together with the aid of a beach babe. And this, Oliver, is where you add meat to the sandwich.

O (short for Ophelia) is in love with Ben and Chon. It’s a weird love triangle that has a ring of the seventies to it. She describes their relationship during the film’s intro:

"Chon is cold metal, Ben is warm wood.  Chon fucks.  Ben makes love.  Chon is earth and Ben's spirit.”

For O, combined they make the perfect man.

The three spend their time on Laguna beach, soaking up the sun and getting high on their own supply. Life is beautiful, until Chon receives a video of hostages having their limbs chopped off by a chainsaw.

It’s a clear message from Mexican drug lord Elena (Salma Hayek). Her drug cartel wants some of the premium product Chon and Ben distribute. She makes them an offer. A dodgy FBI agent, Dennis (John Travolta), tells them to take the deal, comparing it to an ordinary business takeover.

“They are Wal-Mart and they want you for a specialty aisle."

Oliver, first the notion of monogamy and now you’re undermining capitalism? I love it.

When Chon and Ben decline the takeover, Elena decides to give them an ultimatum. She orders O to be kidnapped and then negotiates her return over a couple years. Elena is a cunning matriarch, an exciting blend of beauty and danger. Think of her as the classic femme fatale whose husband and children have died, kicking her matriarchal disciplines into over drive.

With O in the hands of chainsaw-loving drug lords, Ben and Chon focus their energies on retribution. I kept my eyes closely on Ben as traditional action flicks would see this free spirit automatically equipped to handle warfare, but you know better than that Oliver. I can tell you’re more interested in seeing Ben fall slowly, cashing in his morality chips one at a time until he’s no different to Chon.

“And, the one thing they have in common is me.  I'm the home that neither of them have ever had.  And, they're mine."

The standout performance easily goes to Benicio Del Toro, whose Lado is the most memorable villain since Heath Ledger’s Joker. Lado is Elena’s right hand man. He’s tired of being the understudy and longs to be in control. He brushes his seedy moustache, toys with the police to their face and assures his insecurities by hand-feeding O. He is mercurial, slowing the entire film’s tempo down as he processes malignant thoughts behind a blank stare. Then with no warning, he kills.

But you fuck up the end game Oliver. You throw in endings (plural) that don’t serve your justice. It was the words that made Savages the great story it is and not style you dressed it in. Without spoiling the movie for enthused viewers, you lacked the conviction needed to give these larger-than-life characters the ending (singular) they deserved.

I understand Ophelia, the narrator, is named after Shakespeare’s bipolar and suicidal sister, but this facet of her personality does more harm than good to the story.

I really liked the beginning of Savages. I really liked the middle too, but as I end this letter I feel compelled to tell you—as though you need to be told this—don’t make a sequel to Platoon.

I’ll still buy a ticket to your next movie, 

Tony Ibrahim

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