Savage is Spielberg's final TV movie before moving into features with 'The Sugarland Express'. He made 3 films for TV and I may argue that they got gradually worse. 'Duel' 8/10 thriller that takes a simple concept and sustains it for 90 minutes. 'Something Evil' 7/10 horror with a basic haunted house plot that manages to entertain without inspiration. 'Savage' 6/10 crime drama with an intriguing story that is beaten down by the lack of character depth and reason to be invested in the plot.
From the get go the personalities in this TV movie are very cliche and 2 dimensional. I feel I know as much about the characters at the end of the film as I did at the beginning. They are on a constant monotone line which kills any entertainment we may get from the story. Why do these people need to solve this case? What is on the line for them if they fail to uncover the truth? I do not know.
The screenplay does have some potential but it is let down by a poor set up to the story which introduces the characters poorly. However, there are a few nice moments in this picture. The strange death does lead to some intriguing mystery which finalises with a skilfully shot scene in the TV studio. We watch these silhouettes as though we are seeing something that we shouldn't have access to. Almost a cliche today is hiding the camera behind parts of the set to give a feeling of something secret taking place, but Spielberg switches this into an almost film-noir style encounter between the helpless and the powerful.
Overall, a good basis for a story but poorly executed in the screenplay. However, Spielberg still manages to form a couple of well shot and intriguing scenes with what he's got.
