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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 critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
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
08/14/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/19/03
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Tedious exercise in navel-gazing.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/22/03
Erica Abeel
Erica Abeel
Film Journal International

The film skips back and forth between several short stories (originally written by A.M. Homes) that are more driven by atmosphere than plot. Yet Troche somehow fails to give them much of either.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
03/13/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Not my life, not yours, but lives worth living and looking in on.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
03/05/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

This film is an acquired taste, but its fine ensemble of actors makes it easy to empathize. Very easy, in fact.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
03/07/03
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Not a complete waste of time, but it doesn't make us feel the way better dramas do, and, in the end, it lacks the qualities that would make it memorable or powerful.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
03/01/03
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

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

The characters are unusual enough, the dialogue sharp enough, and the acting good enough that it is relatively pleasant watching these lives for a couple hours.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
02/08/03
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

The film is so energetic (a plus) that its body is often ahead of its brain. Still, the movie isn't so sappy that we're forced to resist it.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
01/11/02
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Deserving of notice if only for a few exceptional performances and some very fine editing work and cinematography.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
10/23/02
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

[Troche has] made a quantum leap in the depth and confidence of her direction, coaxing career-best perfs from everyone involved while fleshing out each storyline to maximum impact.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/11/03
Eddie Cockrell
Eddie Cockrell
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Each one of these characters experiences an incredibly healing moment and you want to celebrate with them, laugh with them, cry with them - they moved me.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
03/14/03
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

The Safety of Objects is like a hike through the swamp of despond, with ennui sticking to our shoes.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
03/07/03
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Presented with such confidence, such care, that we love all of the characters, even if we don't like them.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
03/06/03
Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder
Chicago Tribune
 
 
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