The Safety of Objects (2001)
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 73
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 38
The large cast of characters and scripting are too unwieldy, and the suburban angst theme feels tired.
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 16
The large cast of characters and scripting are too unwieldy, and the suburban angst theme feels tired.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 4,124
My Rating
Movie Info
Following up on her 1998 opus Bedrooms and Hallways, Rose Troche directs this ensemble film about suburbia and its discontents. Once an up-and-coming singer/songwriter, Paul Gold (Joshua Jackson) now lies in a coma, attentively nursed by his mother Esther (Glenn Close), who dotes on her son to the exclusion of her husband and her daughter Julie (Jessica Campbell). Meanwhile, Jim Train (Dermot Mulroney) is a workaholic lawyer who is closer to his tortes than to his spouse Susan (Moira Kelly).
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Cast
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Glenn Close
Esther Gold -
Dermot Mulroney
Jim Train -
Patricia Clarkson
Annette Jennings -
Jessica Campbell
Julie Gold -
Joshua Jackson
Paul Gold -
Timothy Olyphant
Randy -
Kristen Stewart
Sam Jennings -
Mary Kay Place
Helen Christianson -
Moira Kelly
Susan Train -
Alex House
Jake Train -
Charlotte Arnold
Sally Christianson -
Robert Klein
Howard Gold -
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Aaron Ashmore
Bobby Christianson -
C. David Johnson
Wayne Christianson -
Haylee Wanstall
Rayanne Jennings -
Kathryn Winslow
Catherine -
Balazs Koos
Walter -
Matthew MacLennan
Jeff
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All Critics (83) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (38) | DVD (5)
A richly compelling movie that is as hard to forget as it is difficult to warm up to.
Top CriticIt's a movie located in an interesting place, but without quite enough self-confidence really to inhabit it.
The sheer number and variety of miseries on view suggest a kind of wallowing.
In boldly departing from the safety of a strong, unifying plot, Troche makes virtual objects of her characters by showing us plenty that intrigues and not enough that enlightens.
Troche ... seems to be tuned into Homes' writing, but without really knowing how to translate it to a cinematic narrative.
A deftly made and poignant character study that deals with life's heartaches and its tender mercies.
mechanical film school exercise
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
Four neighboring families, seven stories, one secret - one great movie.
Troche has created a truly moving film, upsetting and uplifting in equal measure.
...there's a lot worth recommending about the film.
Simply put, there's too much going on, and too many fragile, damaged characters to fret appropriately over.
The time required to introduce more than a dozen major characters eats into the two-hour film, leaving precious few minutes for development.
A fairly deft sewing job of short stories by A.M. Homes.
Audience Reviews for The Safety of Objects
Super Reviewer
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- Esther Gold: [thinking] How did I get here? Somewhere along the way, things have gotten out of hand. I don't know how. I tried to do things right, but...maybe that's the problem. Maybe there is no right or wrong. We're ruled by chaos. That would make more sense. That there are no rewards, no punishments. Life isn't a series of results of things done right or wrong. It's all just random. Those are the rules. There are no rules.
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- 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.
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- Esther Gold: If you are ever in a praying situation with Him: Be Specific! Include certain clauses. It's not enough to assume that if a person lives they'll be okay... Cause God has a wicked sense of humor. And even though he knows you mean more, he'll only give you exactly what you ask for.
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- Sam Jennings: [to Randy] You know, uhm... When my mom and dad were first getting divorced, I would always pretend not to hear my dad call up to me to say good-bye. 'Cause I always thought he'd stay longer. If... he couldn't actually say it to me, you know? Maybe it's like that for you. Bye.
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The rewatch was just as good. Great cast including a very young Kristen Stewart. I liked how the stories about the three sets of neighbours all wound together. Though it is a drama, there is some black humor there as well. The Barbie doll in particular made me laugh. Very realistic with that hair - kind of creepy actually!