Home Entertainment: ’Savage’ digital review

Taking place across three key moments in one man’s life, Savage tells the uncompromising story of one man’s rise through the ranks of a New Zealand street gang. Inspired by real-life stories of street gangs, the film follows Damage (played by a combination of Jake Ryan, Olly Pressling and James Matamua) across thirty years as he goes from angry young man to violent enforcer. 

Sam Kelly, a first-time feature writer and director, does not sugar-coat anything that occurs in Savage. The story is steeped in testosterone-fuelled aggression, taking the film into some dark and wildly vicious directions. Broken into three simple sections, Savage joins Damage at pivotal moments in his life and offers the viewer an insight into circumstances that could lead someone to turn to the violent life of street gangs. The story first meets Damage during the eighties where he is at the height of his gang infamy, before quickly rewinding to his life as a boy. Here we witness just how badly, terrible parenting can affect a child and a simple act of desperation casts him onto a path of destruction. Next we join Damage as a young man and see how the Savages gang was formed, before reconnecting with the adult version and learning just how a life of constant violence and aggression takes its toll. 

With its focus on violence, fractured masculinity, and aggressive brotherhoods, Savage will most definitely appeal to fans of television series Sons of Anarchy. Kelly doesn’t romanticise his lead quite as heavily, but there should be enough here to appeal to those that enjoyed the show. Fans of Sons of Anarchy may also find themselves at a slight advantage when it comes to understanding and decoding the daily grind of the gang. For those unfamiliar, use of phrases such as ‘Cuts’ and being ‘patched over’ will be concepts that will take a little bit of work to grasp.  

Spending time with each of Damage’s iterations gives a more rounded viewer experience, one that offers explanations, but not excuses, for his actions. This is a subtle, but necessary, difference as excuses would pardon the violent actions whereas explanations expose the thinking and situations behind them. Although much of the story revolves around Damage, Kelly never pushes the audience too far towards liking the character. By not shying away from horrible instances of brutality, Kelly highlights exactly how the group lives up to their moniker of Savage, challenging the audience to assess just how they feel about their protagonist. It’s a clever narrative hook, one that encourages discourse and analysis of the masculinity portrayed on-screen. 

Kelly’s intricately woven script comes to life through a fantastic trio of performances from Jake Ryan, Olly Presling, and James Matamua, as each portrays Damage at his varying stages. Each tackles their version of the character with great thought and maturity, but they also manage the near impossible feat of all believably being the same character at different ages. Often ‘biopic’ type stories such as this struggle to find a believable through-lineage of cast and either have one iteration stand-out much stronger than the others, or shoehorn the same actor into all ages, hoping that the audience will believe that they are ludicrously younger than their actual age. Here Presling, Matamua, and Ryan all carry the baton with the same brooding elegance that ensures maximum viewer engagement, morphing from one to another passing by almost invisibly. 

A troublingly brutal and unflinching portrait of the criminal underbelly of New Zealand society, Savage may alienate some with its thirst for violence, but will most certainly satisfy those with an appetite for destruction. 

Savage will be available on digital platforms from 1st January 2021.