Cast: Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Jessica Campbell, Patricia Clarkson, Joshua Jackson, Moira Kelly, Robert Klein, Timothy Olyphant, Mary Kay Place, Kristen Stewart
Director: Rose Troche
Producers: Christine Vachon, Dorothy Berwin
Screenplay: Rose Troche, based on stories by A.M. Homes
Cinematography: Enrique Chediak
Music: Barb Morrison, Charles Nieland, Nance Nieland
U.S. Distributor: IFC Films
The Safety of Objects exhibits some of the positives and many of the negatives that have characterized American independent cinema during the last decade. On the one hand, it is well-made and features solid performances from an ensemble cast. It also addresses issues. On the other hand, it shuns risk taking, preferring to play with a safety net. That's not to say this is a bad movie, but it never seems to be as good as it could be, and about 1/3 of the material put on screen doesn't work in one way or another. Part of me enjoyed The Safety of Objects, but another part of me was dissatisfied.
The film is the product of filmmaker Rose Troche, who, with her third feature (following Go Fish and Bedrooms and Hallways), is making a foray into the more mainstream side of the indie business. For this outing, she has assembled an impressive cast that features such mid-wattage names as Glenn Close, Dermont Mulroney, Joshua Jackson, Patricia Clarkson, and Moira Kelly. Indeed, there isn't a bad performance to be found, and that's one of the reasons the picture sometimes works. Close in particular is very good, and her character ends up being at the focal point of the movie's central moral dilemma.
The Safety of Objects is based on a book of short stories by A. M. Homes. In adapting the stories for the screen, Troche has interwoven them, creating a tapestry not unlike that of such familiar titles as Short Cuts, Magnolia, and Happiness, although with a less finely detailed texture. The film introduces us to four families living in the same suburban neighborhood - the Golds, the Trains, the Jennings, and the Christiansons. The Golds have suffered a loss - their teenage son, Paul, a promising musician, lies in a coma in his bedroom, the result of a car accident. His mother, Esther (Glenn Close), pampers him to the extent of alienating her husband (Robert Klein) and daughter, Julie (Jessica Campbell). Meanwhile, Paul's middle-aged lover, Annette Jennings (Patricia Clarkson), is struggling to make ends meet to support her two young daughters. Jim Train (Dermot Mulroney) has become so obsessed with his job at a law firm that he disconnects with his wife, Susan (Moira Kelly), and their children. Finally, Helen Christianson (Mary Kay Place) is looking for a little excitement in her marriage - something her husband seems unwilling (or unable) to provide. The lives and stories frequently intersect as the movie makes its way towards a conclusion that attempts to bring a form of closure to all that has transpired.
Although the film tells a sporadically involving story, its narrative approach is not seamless. The stories centered around the Golds and Jennings are far more interesting than those involving the Trains and Christiansons, who often seem to be on hand just to fill in gaps. Some of Troche's humor comes across as out-of-place; there are instances in which characters are reduced to caricatures just for a laugh. Sequences featuring the infatuation of a pre-teen boy with a Barbie doll might work on the written page, but they seem awkward and unconvincing on screen.
In general, the dramatic foundation of The Safety of Objects is on solid ground. The thing that separates the aforementioned ensemble films from this one is the depth of the characterizations and the believability of the narrative flow. There's something superficial about the men and women populating this film, and the storyline proceeds in a fairly linear, expected direction. The Safety of Objects is 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.
© 2003 James Berardinelli