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The Safety Of Objects [2003]

Starring: Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Mary Kay Place, Patricia Clarkson, Jessica Campbell
Director: Rose Troche
Format: PAL
Released: 16 Feb 2004
RRP: £19.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Glenn Close's Amazing Performance Is Wasted On This Bad Film - By: willow, 09 Oct 2008
Not a very good film. I read the book & absolutely loved it but this is bleak & whiney boarderline weird (& not a good kind of weird.)
Although Glenn Close's performance is astounding it was wasted on this film. It tries to recreate depth but I think there was far too much going on, it tried to do that interlinking thing were everyone is linked to each other in some way or another.
I wouldn't recommend you waste your time on this, if you want family dysfunction rent The Squid & The Whale, anything but just don't bother with this.
Recommended - By: R. L. Graham, 22 Aug 2005
Although I read (and enjoyed) the book years ago, my reason for watching this film was the curiosity of seeing Rose Troche's direction - I've been a fan of her work with Go Fish and, more recently, The L Word. And I was very impressed - well scripted, well acted & excellently directed. Even the opening credits hooked me!
A tragic tale interwoven with humour, this film is a must-see.
A BOOK ADAPTATION GONE AWRY... - By: Lawyeraau, 01 Jul 2004
With a superlative ensemble cast giving note worthy performances, I expected this movie to be better than it actuallly was. Unfortunately, it was a sterile production, as none of the characters reallly grab the viewer emotionallly. The normal rules of engagement seem to be lacking, leaving the viewer with the sense of having seen a shell of what was potentiallly a good film. Instead, the viewer gets a film with a few good hurrahs amidst a motley reel of celluloid. It is an ambitious film that does not see its ambitions realized.

Adapted from a book of short stories by A. H. Holmes, the film attempts to weave these short stories into a collective, cohesive narrative. It is a strained effort, at best. It gives an ostensible slice of suburban angst through the stories of four middle class families, neighbors in a suburban community. All have some connection to a car accident that severely injured the son of one of these families, causing him to remain in a vegetative state.

The film plods along, unraveling the accident in tortuous fashion as it takes the viewer to the final denouement. Some of the characters behave inexplicably without rhyme or reason as to why they would behave in such a fashion, leaving the viewer to wonder why. While the reasons may be of interest, there is not a clue as to such. It may simply be that the author's interrelated short stories simply did not adapt well to film, despite best efforts to make it into a cohesive entity.

Yet, a pre-pubescent boy talks to his sister's Barbie doll, believing that they have some kind of relationship, & he believes that Barbie talks back to him. A man whose marital relationship is on the brink of disaster leaves his wife & family at a critical juncture in order to help a neighbor try to win an SUV contest at a local malll. Why they act in this fashion is the question. The answer is entirely shrouded & obscure, so that the viewer is left puzzled & grasping at straws, in the end not reallly caring at alll why.

So, despite excellent performances by the cast, the film is torpid at best, staying afloat simply because of the efforts of the cast not to go down with a sinking ship. The stories of the characters themselves simply cannot sustain the film sufficiently, despite the valiant efforts of the cast & the director. It is a somewhat depressing film that is unable to break away from its own inherent torpor. Still, it is worth a rental, if only for the fine performances of this stellar ensemble cast.

Surreally real. - By: Mr. P. Tanner, 21 Mar 2004
This movie is incredibly real & yet surreal at the same time. The humour is akin to that in American Beauty with the story being about real hopes & dreams & how people deal with them either being lost or just not happening.

We get a glimpse into the functinality of disfunctional middle America, & what a trip it is. There is an underlying sadness about this film that is so real it is frightening, we follow several families through trial & tribulation & it is terrific.

Every performance is first rate & everything is plausable due to the surreal aspects, including the talking doll-girlfriend which would ordinarilly be ludicrous.

The soundtrack is excellent & very enjoyable, some well known songs nicely mixed with some less well know, but appropriate, tracks.

If you don't like dark, morose humour then steer clear this is not a light comedy, but, if you you like dark real issues then I would snap this up at once.