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Movies / On DVD / Safe
Safe

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Safe (1995)

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87 %
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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:26

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7.4/10

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: SAFE is an unnerving story about a housewife, Carol (brilliantly played by Julianne Moore), who falls physically and psychologically ill from her environment. Director Todd Haynes casts an... SAFE is an unnerving story about a housewife, Carol (brilliantly played by Julianne Moore), who falls physically and psychologically ill from her environment. Director Todd Haynes casts an instantly eerie spell with hypnotic cinematography as Carol's stoic, perfect world is introduced. Her home is exquisite, her husband (Xander Berkeley) loving, her son (Chauncey Leopardi) typical, her best friend loyal. But after Carol learns her friend Linda's (Susan Norman) brother has died mysteriously, Carol begins to experience her own strange symptoms. Her illness eventually transforms her seemingly protected, upper middle-class existence into a terror of everyday life. She becomes so ill--with her doctor and friends concluding it's all psychological--that she begins to investigate a cult-like healing center that provides a protective bubble from what its followers call "the twentieth century disease"--a kind of allergy to everything modern or chemical. With its stunning art direction and an impressive performance by its star, SAFE is both a chilling tale of existential dread and a witty commentary on modern suburban life. [More]

Starring: Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, James Le Gros, Peter Friedman

Starring: Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, James Le Gros, Peter Friedman, Susan Norman

Director: Todd Haynes

Director: Todd Haynes
Screenwriter: Todd Haynes

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Safe

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/11/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Though the film had a miniscule budget, it looks outstanding with its dull, muted colors and godawful lite-rock soundtrack.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
11/20/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Richer in subtext than text, this poignant, much misunderstood deconstructive film, about environmental diseseas, New Age therapy and TV movie of the week, deserves a second look due to meanings and Julianne Moore's terrific performance in a tough role

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
10/01/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

One of the most mesmerizing and provocative films in recent years.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/27/06
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/09/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Moore gives a superb performance, see it

comment Comment
07/08/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

An overpraised, go-nowhere project.

comment Comment
12/08/04
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

No review available.

comment Comment
11/02/04
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

No review available.

comment Comment
08/24/04
Eric Melin
Eric Melin
Lawrence.com

Pretentious, stilted and beyond dull.

comment Comment
06/11/04
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online

No review available.

comment Comment
04/22/04
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

No review available.

comment Comment
03/25/04
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
01/12/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

There is evidence to support a number of claims of Safe’s contemporary social relevance, but the film is durably and tacitly ambiguous.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
11/20/03
Rumsey Taylor
Rumsey Taylor
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Leonard Schwarz
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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