2004 Mini Reviews

The Safety of Objects (2003)

The Safety of Objects
Directed by Rose Troche
Starring Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Patricia Clarkson
Running Time: 121 minutes

The Safety of Objects effectively shows us that you can have all the necessary production elements of a good film, such as a great ensemble cast, good direction, good camerawork, etc., yet the end product can come out as absolute trash.

The film is told in the now familiar Tarantinoesque styling of several separate stories that have weak links with each other, but overall they all restate the theme of the film. Only unlike Tarantino films where the characters are interesting, this film is about suburban families who are among the most drab and mundane characters in film, even compared to other suburban film characters. These characters also make completely idiotic and unrealistic decisions, which would work if the theme of the film was that "people are stupid", but it wasn't, and in reality, they aren't. At least not like that.

It was almost a blessing and a curse that the film looked good enough for me to continue watching, not to mention it starred Glenn Close and Patricia Clarkson, who were both very good in the film. I halfway expected some point to be made that justified the two hours of monotony. That point never came, at least not one interesting enough that made the previous one hour and fifty minutes not seem such a waste

Don't waste your money or your time on this one.

Score: 3/10


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