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Movies / On DVD / The Safety of Objects
The Safety of Objects

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The Safety of Objects (2003)

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Reviews Counted:72

Fresh:35

Rotten:37

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: The large cast of characters and scripting are too unwieldy, and the suburban angst theme feels tired.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Dramas

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... 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 [More]

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

Starring: Glenn Close, Patricia Clarkson, Dermot Mulroney, Joshua Jackson, Moira Kelly, Robert Klein, Timothy Olyphant, Jessica Campbell, Kristen Stewart, Mary Kay Place

Director: Rose Troche

Director: Rose Troche
Screenwriter: Rose Troche
Producer: Dorothy Berwin, Christine Vachon
Studio: IFC Films

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Reviews for The Safety of Objects

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/19/03
Guardian [UK]
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
08/14/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Troche has created a truly moving film, upsetting and uplifting in equal measure.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
08/05/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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

Though well-acted, Troche's third film, an adaptation of short stories, is a minor addition of a fractured, ensemble narrative to the overly populated genre of suburban malaise and anomie in the wake of the success of Mendes' Oscar-winner American Beauty

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/17/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

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Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Four neighboring families, seven stories, one secret - one great movie.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/19/04
Oz
Oz
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

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Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
02/21/04
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...there's a lot worth recommending about the film.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Simply put, there's too much going on, and too many fragile, damaged characters to fret appropriately over.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
07/08/03
Adam Nayman
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY

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Full Review Source: Sunday Times (Australia) | comment Comment
06/23/03
Sunday Times (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A richly compelling movie that is as hard to forget as it is difficult to warm up to.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
06/06/03
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star

A fairly deft sewing job of short stories by A.M. Homes.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/06/03
Jim Slotek
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

It's a movie located in an interesting place, but without quite enough self-confidence really to inhabit it.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
06/06/03
Ray Conlogue
Ray Conlogue
Globe and Mail
N/R

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Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
06/06/03
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The sheer number and variety of miseries on view suggest a kind of wallowing.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
04/10/03
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

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 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
04/03/03
Nick Carter
Nick Carter
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
03/27/03
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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