Review of Safe (1995) by Alison O — 08 Jun 2006

Best in Show: Julianne Moore.

One for the future: Julianne Moore.

Stand-out scene: Car park coughing fit.

Brainer or no-brainer: Brainer.

Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: One.

DVD commentary any good?: n/a.

TV.

Director Todd Haynes is a master of the quirky movie and this examination of what happens when a well-off suburbanite seemingly contracts an allergy to the modern world is no exception. Julianne Moore is so good in the lead role that you can't imagine anyone else playing the part, Haynes himself impressed enough to cast her again in his terrific Far From Heaven. In the opening scenes, we observe minted housewife Carol White (Julianne Moore) going about her comfortable upper middle class existence, ordering expensive furniture for her plush Californian abode. As this is a 'horror movie for the soul' however, this idyll doesn't last for long, and White descends into an allergy-riddled state that leaves her home and bedbound. After seeing a TV advert for the Wrenwood Retreat, an allergy-proof backwater which allows its residents to live as toxin-free a life as possible, Carol sees it as a chance for her to break free from the destructive cycle she's trapped in. As an examination of what real or imagined dangers twentieth century living holds this is fascinating from beginning to end. The big bucks industry surrounding allergies and all their symptoms is a phenomenon that has sprung up in only the last decade or so and Haynes doesn't pass judgement on the validity of the condition White is gripped by. This is no fast-paced movie, its serene and still atmosphere adding to the sense of menace that felt by Carol and the viewer observing her descent into an allergy-stricken state. The supporting work from 24's Xander Berkeley as her at times frustrated at other times sympathetic husband is excellent. A real thought-provoker.