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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS
The Safety of Objects

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The Safety of Objects (2003)

49%
86%
67%
N/A
N/A
N/A
49 %
Reviews Counted: 70 Fresh: 34  Rotten:36 Average Rating: 5.9/10
 
Consensus: The large cast of characters and scripting are too unwieldy, and the suburban angst theme feels tired. The large cast of characters and scripting are too unwieldy, and the suburban angst theme feels tired. more
 
Runtime: 2 hrs
Synopsis:
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS is an American suburban drama filled with subversive humour. We uncover the lives of four neighbouring families as they struggle to make honest human relationships. In doing so the characters realise they must emerge from the isolation provided by...the safety of... [More]
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS is an American suburban drama filled with subversive humour. We uncover the lives of four neighbouring families as they struggle to make honest human relationships. In doing so the characters realise they must emerge from the isolation provided by...the safety of objects. In a desirable American suburb four families' lives become entwined. PAUL GOLD (Joshua Jackson) lies in his bedroom in a coma, nursed by his mother, ESTHER GOLD (Glenn Close), who in her role has unintentionally distanced herself from her husband and her teenage daughter, JULIE (Jessica Campbell). JIM TRAIN (Dermot Mulroney) is a lawyer who has more intimacy with his work than with his wife SUSAN (Moira Kelly), who in response chooses to settle into their new life without him. Their son JAKE is finding it hard to conceal his burgeoning relationship with his sister's doll, Tani, the twelve-inch girl he adores. ANNETTE JENNINGS (Patricia Clarkson), once Paul's lover, is in the midst of a messy divorce and is trying to keep herself together while bringing up her children, SAM and RAYANNE, on a shoestring. HELEN CHRISTIANSON (Mary Kay Place), bored by her husband and the banalities of everyday life looks for something or someone to spark her. Over the course of four days Esther enters a competition to win a car for her daughter and Jim, frustrated by his job, plays hooky to help her win; Jake throws over the Tani doll for some real friends; Annette reclaims her life when RANDY (Timothy Olyphant) enters Sam's and Helen discovers what she has at home is not something she wants to replace. -- © 2002 Renaissance Films [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Glenn Close, Patricia Clarkson, Dermot Mulroney, Joshua Jackson, Moira Kelly

Director: Rose Troche
Screenwriter: Rose Troche
Producer: Dorothy Berwin, Christine Vachon

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 10, 2004

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Stereo Surround - English

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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12/30/06 07:04 AM
Empire Magazine
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02/09/06 03:17 AM
Derek Adams
Time Out
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08/19/03 05:08 PM
Guardian [UK]
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08/14/03 05:07 PM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
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Troche has created a truly moving film, upsetting and uplifting in equal measure.

Full Review | Comment
08/05/03 05:08 PM
Jamie Russell
BBC
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07/21/05 03:57 AM
Houston Chronicle
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Four neighboring families, seven stories, one secret - one great movie.

Full Review | Comment
10/19/04 10:55 PM
Oz
eFilmCritic.com
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02/21/04 07:01 AM
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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...there's a lot worth recommending about the film.

Full Review | Comment
08/01/03 08:08 AM
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
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Simply put, there's too much going on, and too many fragile, damaged characters to fret appropriately over.

Full Review | Comment
07/08/03 05:15 PM
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY
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A richly compelling movie that is as hard to forget as it is difficult to warm up to.

Full Review | Comment
06/06/03 04:50 PM
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
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A fairly deft sewing job of short stories by A.M. Homes.

Full Review | Comment
06/06/03 04:46 PM
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies
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It's a movie located in an interesting place, but without quite enough self-confidence really to inhabit it.

Full Review | Comment
06/06/03 04:44 PM
Ray Conlogue
Globe and Mail
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The sheer number and variety of miseries on view suggest a kind of wallowing.

Full Review | Comment
04/10/03 02:42 PM
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
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The effectiveness of The Safety of Objects and all such 'burb-angst weepies comes down to how far viewers will go toward feeling empathetic, or even sympathetic, rather than resentful toward such self-absorbed and self-loathing characters.

Full Review | Comment
04/03/03 06:49 PM
Nick Carter
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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03/27/03 05:09 PM
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com
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One compelling story intertwined gracelessly with countless others ranging from mediocre to unspeakably idiotic.

Full Review | Comment
03/20/03 11:26 PM
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather
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Great for dissecting the American dream, but for pure movie entertainment, look somewhere else

Full Review | Comment
03/19/03 11:45 AM
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit
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03/16/03 08:24 AM
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle
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It offers a meaningful lesson in putting people first -- ones that surround us, shelter us emotionally, and sometimes come to define us.

Full Review | Comment
03/14/03 05:59 PM
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Related Forums

REEL_REVIEWER
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS - Four dysunctional families make this film un-four-gettable!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/1/04


REEL_REVIEWER
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS - Four dysunctional families make this film un-four-gettable!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/1/04


REEL_REVIEWER
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS - Four dysunctional families make this film un-four-gettable!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/1/04


REEL_REVIEWER
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS - Four dysunctional families make this film un-four-gettable!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/1/04


Film review:
by: loojen 11/10/03
all

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