The Safety of Objects (2001)

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:

Kiss It All Goodbye

Some nice acting but not much inner American beauty here

Rose Troche certainly can't be accused to sticking to the same sort of film. This one is a complete contrast to `Bedrooms and Hallways', which was a pleasant gay romantic comedy and `Go Fish', which had a gay theme but was truly weird. The multiple storylines and cross-cutting are rather Altman-esq but the stories are tied together as in `What's Cooking'. In fact, it's a drama on the same template. We have four households (and one other guy) all tied together by the hands of fate.

Although there are some good lines, it's rather a dour film with a jaundiced view of American suburban society (though filmed mostly in Toronto). People are obsessed with their work or their children and seem to receive little happiness from either. In the case of Glenn Close's character Esther Gold she has an uphill battle since her once lively teenage musician son is now in a coma. She cares for him meticulously, constantly talking to him, convinced he will return to consciousness. The children are also dissatisfied with life, or have escaped into their own fantasies (one pre-pubescent lad is conducting an affair with a barbie doll), despite the affluence and parental attention. There is a resonance here with `American Beauty', but not the same lyrical camerawork.

Glenn Close, as the coma boy's mother who enters an endurance contest to appease her aggrieved daughter, is as good as she has ever been, with a kind of understated desperation that expresses perfectly her character's feelings. Patricia Clarkson is also a stand-out as Annette, a recently divorced woman, traded in by her air-head husband for a newer model, who battles on to look after her children, while trying to find some comfort for herself in the bar scene. Jessica Campbell as the daughter gives us a good picture of an angry teenage brat. The men, on the other hand, don't stand out, except perhaps Randy the pool guy (Timothy Olyphant), whose good looks take on a sinister aspect when he becomes involved with Sam, Annette's tomboyish daughter. Dermot Mulroney as Jim Train, a work–obsessed lawyer is curiously flat, though Moira Kelly curls her lips nicely as his aggrieved wife.

This could have been a gothic tale, but Troche keeps the story to a fairly mundane level, as befits the suburban landscape. I think American suburbia will hate it – far too drab, commonplace and close to the bone. `American Beauty' got away with it because it was so pretty, and Lester and his family really were a bit odd. There's nothing odd about these people – they are just as colourless and inadequate as the rest of us. I notice Roger Ebert thought them unlikeable. No, they're just ordinary.