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After their estranged father (Philip Bosco) has a mental breakdown, adult siblings Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Wendy Savage (Laura Linney) are forced to figure out the best way to care for a parent who never really cared for them.

Big questions: Did “The Savages” deserve its best screenplay prize at the 2007 Sundance film festival? And does the memory of Linney’s breakthrough film, “You Can Count On Me,” overshadow this sibling story?

Catch it: An uncommonly credible examination of family bonds and the way coming to grips with the past can help you move forward into the future, writer-director Tamara Jenkins (who hasn’t made a film since 1998’s “Slums of Beverly Hills”) crafts a subtle and sly comedic drama that never feels remotely false or forced. Both Bosco and Hoffman contribute terrific work, but this is ultimately Linney’s movie and she rises to the occasion with one of her best performances to date.

Skip it: If you’re writing a book on playwright Bertolt Brecht, you might want to avoid hearing what Jon titles his Brecht opus.

Bottom line: Featuring some of the best writing and acting on screen all year, “The Savages” shouldn’t be missed. Hopefully it won’t be another 10 years before Jenkins delivers a follow-up, but if that’s the time it takes to produce something this good it’ll be worth the wait.

Bonus: Jenkins is married to Jim Taylor, the Oscar-winning screenwriting partner of filmmaker Alexander Payne (“Election,” “Sideways”). That helps explain the duo’s presence as executive producers. Fortunately, the quality of Jenkins’ work justifies the endorsement.

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