The Safety of Objects (2001)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Rose Troche

Writers (WGA):

A.M. Homes (book)
Rose Troche (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 July 2002 (Israel)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A powerful story intertwining the lives of four neighboring families as they struggle to understand each other and, ultimately, themselves.

Plot:

A series of overlapping stories about four suburban families dealing with different maladies. Esther...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Short Story | Doll | Car Accident | Older Woman | Lawyer

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Glenn Close	...	Esther Gold
Dermot Mulroney	...	Jim Train
Jessica Campbell	...	Julie Gold
Patricia Clarkson	...	Annette Jennings
Joshua Jackson	...	Paul Gold
Moira Kelly	...	Susan Train
Robert Klein	...	Howard Gold
Timothy Olyphant	...	Randy
Mary Kay Place	...	Helen Christianson
Kristen Stewart	...	Sam Jennings
Alex House	...	Jake Train
Charlotte Arnold	...	Sally Christianson
Andrew Airlie	...	Bruce Jennings
Stephanie Mills	...	Karen
Angela Vint	...	Tina

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

121 min | Finland:116 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-11 | France:U | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:11 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Better Safe Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Kristen Stewart's character Sam does not exist in the book. Timothy Olyphant's character Randy kidnaps a boy named Erol.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the opening credits when the families are being listed, the Jennings family is listed as "The Jennings." The correct plural is "The Jenningses."

Quotes:

Randy: When you start collecting things, you start thinking you care about stuff. And when they're gone; when they break or someone steals them, you feel like a part of you is gone, too. When you have things and suddenly you don't, it feels like you disappeared. Nothing should make you feel that way... Except when you lose a person

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Hands on a Hard Body: The Documentary (1997)

Soundtrack:

Lovely

Tries too hard and fails.

The film feels like a mix of Happiness, American Beauty, The Ice Storm, and Short Cuts, but it isn't as good as any of them. There is of course a sense of black comedy (at least in the first half) which works quite nicely, but the drama bits never pay off. There is at least one family too many to spend time with (the Christiansons don't really have anything to do with the other stories), and the script is at times too vague for its own good. Moreover, the ending doesn't really ties things together as it should.

Of the actors, I liked Mulroney's inept family man the best, but Glenn Close, and Patricia Clarkson were also good. All in all, the film spread itself too thin and there was a sense of aloofness, and lack of focus that dragged it down. I think it would have worked better if they had emphazised the comedy bits more and trimmed it down a bit as well.