X
  • 1995
  • R
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 59 m
  • 1995
  • R
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 59 m

Summary Carol White (Julianne Moore) lives with her husband and son in suburban comfort until she collapses one day, for no apparent reason. Her condition worsens in the weeks that follow, as she suffers from coughing fits, exhaustion, and spontaneous nose bleeds, triggered by sources as disparate as car exhaust, cologne, and the sun. Failing to...

Directed By: Todd Haynes

Written By: Todd Haynes

  • 1995
  • R
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 59 m
  • 1995
  • R
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 59 m

Safe

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 17 Critic Reviews
76
User Score Universal Acclaim Based on 83 User Ratings
8.1
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Carol White (Julianne Moore) lives with her husband and son in suburban comfort until she collapses one day, for no apparent reason. Her condition worsens in the weeks that follow, as she suffers from coughing fits, exhaustion, and spontaneous nose bleeds, triggered by sources as disparate as car exhaust, cologne, and the sun. Failing to...

Directed By: Todd Haynes

Written By: Todd Haynes

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 17 Critic Reviews
76
82% Positive
14 Reviews
18% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 17 Critic Reviews
76
82% Positive
14 Reviews
18% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Todd Haynes' Safe grips you with its air of antiseptic malevolence and leaves you gasping. You feel as disoriented as the protagonist, a young housewife suffering from 20th-century disease. [11 Aug 1995]
FULL REVIEW
100
We know nothing of this woman’s inner-traumas, the repressed memories or hidden pains of her youth, yet Moore, in an extraordinary milestone performance, gives us a glimpse inside Carol’s frail and lonely soul.
By Sal Cinquemani FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 83 User Ratings
8.1
82% Positive
68 Ratings
5% Mixed
4 Ratings
13% Negative
11 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 83 User Ratings
8.1
82% Positive
68 Ratings
5% Mixed
4 Ratings
13% Negative
11 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

89
What Safe does so brilliantly is to plunge us down this frightening rabbit hole with Carol.
By Marjorie Baumgarten FULL REVIEW
75
For all its flaws and vagueness, Safe is smart, challenging and provocative -- a film that gives you plenty to chew on, long after Carol's sad tale has wound down.
By Edward Guthmann FULL REVIEW
63
With Todd Haynes' direction suggesting a Twilight Zone full court press, this uncommonly rigid movie is either bloodlessly objective or so subtly droll that the joke is beyond comprehension. But given that Haynes previously utilized a cast of Barbie dolls in the brazenly daring Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, it's tempting to give him the benefit of the doubt. [21 June 1995, p.7D]
By Mike Clark FULL REVIEW
63
Safe does not succeed at everything it attempts. The film is overlong and there are times when more aggressive editing might have improved the pace. However, despite certain dramatic shortcomings, Safe is an insightful and darkly comical social commentary.
By James Berardinelli FULL REVIEW
50
Frequently fascinating, it never builds into anything profound.
By Stephen Hunter FULL REVIEW
See All 17 Critic Reviews

Details

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Production Company American Playhouse Theatrical Films, Killer Films, Chemical Films, Good Machine, Kardana Productions, Channel Four Films, Arnold Semler, American Playhouse, Kardana Films
Release Date Jun 23, 1995
Duration 1 h 59 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline In the 21st century nobody will be...Safe.
View All Details

Awards

Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 4 Nominations
National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA
• 3 Nominations
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 3 Nominations

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