'A Savage Art' Review: The Sharp Pen and Shaper of History
- Romey Norton
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - October, 2025
Documentaries about artists often fall into one of two camps: reverent portraits that risk turning their subject into myth, or critical dissections that forget the human beneath the genius. A Savage Art, from filmmaker Bill Banowsky, walks a confident line between the two. This documentary is a thoughtful, incisive, and occasionally startling portrait of Patrick Oliphant, one of the most daring political cartoonists of the 20th century.
Oliphant’s name may not be familiar to younger audiences, but his pen defined eras. Over five decades and ten U.S. presidents, his razor-edged cartoons skewered hypocrisy, hubris, and power with a precision that modern political discourse often lacks. He was a visual conscience, one ink-stroke away from outrage or laughter, depending on which side of the political line you stood.
From the opening frames, A Savage Art feels alive with energy. The film layers archival interviews, family recollections, and hundreds of cartoons (nearly 350 make it in, out of Oliphant’s staggering 10,000 published works) to trace both the man and the moment. We see his rise from an Australian newsroom to the heart of American political culture, and we’re reminded that his work didn’t just reflect politics; it shaped it. Some of my favourite quotes about Oliphant are in the opening sequence: "His formula for insult is unrivaled” and “if he couldn’t draw, he’d be an assassin” - because he poked fun and scared politicians and the establishment. If this isn’t what art is meant to do, I don’t know what is.
A Savage Art also explores what it means to use art as accountability. The director, who originally set out to make a five-minute short before realising the depth of Oliphant’s story, notes: “As I began to learn more about Pat’s story and his place in history among the legends of editorial cartooning, it became apparent that the film needed to be a full-length feature." That decision pays off. A Savage Art captures Oliphant’s personal history, from his family, his creative process, to his quiet frustrations, and contextualizes his work within a larger history of political cartooning. The film traces a lineage back to artists like James Gillray and Thomas Nast, showing how the sharpness of satire has always served democracy’s scalpel. We learn how Oliphant didn’t like his drawing, which won him the Pulitzer Prize award.
Visually, the film is absorbing. Oliphant’s cartoons come to life through subtle animation and careful pacing. You’ll almost feel like you’re on the inside of his work and his thought process. We see the contradictions in Oliphant’s character: a man fueled by moral outrage but also by ego; an artist whose life’s work depended on seeing the flaws in others, even when he struggled to avoid his own.
Ultimately, A Savage Art can serve audiences as both a tribute and a warning. It celebrates a time when editorial cartoonists were fearless provocateurs, unafraid to hold the powerful accountable, and it quietly laments a media landscape where that space has shrunk. In an era of corporate caution and algorithmic newsfeeds, the film argues, artists like Oliphant are more vital than ever.
By tracing the life of Patrick Oliphant, A Savage Art reminds us that sometimes, the sharpest weapons in history aren’t swords or speeches, but pens. With a runtime of one hour and twenty-eight minutes, this documentary film is a must-watch for those who enjoy art, history, and learning.
A Savage Art: The Life & Cartoons of Pat Oliphant had a limited theatrical release starting September 5, 2025, distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
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