Safe: On-This-Day Thursday
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Every Thursday, an older film released on this opening weekend years ago will be reviewed. They can be classics, or simply popular films that happened to be released to the world on the same date.
For June 23rd, we are going to have a look at Safe.
I’m going to be upfront with you. Safe is one of the most terrifying movie going experiences I’ve ever had. I admit that I am a bit of a hypochondriac, but that’s because I am occasionally right about what I have feared for myself and my own health. I have sleep disorders (sleep apnea and insomnia), skin conditions (psoriasis and eczema), ADHD, depression, silent migraines, and other daily bothers. Here’s the thing: we all have so many silent battles and/or more apparent conditions. I guess I just deal with my situations differently: with a fear and awareness that I’m at an age where every little problem can contribute to my health and life from here on out. Every sleepless night means I may be damaging myself. Every dizzy spell represents another scare. To see a body completely dismantle in Safe, and have zero ways to stop it, was like watching my darkest fears coming true. We are incredibly complicated biological machines, but we’re still only human.
Haynes made a film where one’s own body is a prison with a few commentaries in mind. Safe was released shortly after the AIDS crisis’ most harrowing years. Haynes was also trying to share his opinion on how poorly we are taking care of the Earth, as it is the environment causing these peoples’ bodies to react. Earth is shot almost like a space station, with intense cinematography (particularly the use of harsh lighting and dark shadows). Shots are either symmetrical or are organized well enough that they feel a little too pristine; you’ll never really feel comfortable even during the normal scenes. Something always feels somewhat off, despite how artistically sound Safe looks. It’s as if an imperfect body within these aesthetic settings is its own contrast that sells the severity of these illnesses greatly.
Safe is shot incredibly well, which adds an aesthetic touch to the film’s scares.
Selling these terrifying moments is a now-iconic Julianne Moore, who was only experiencing her breakthrough around this time. She plays the lead character Carol White, who is trying to just go on about her life until these deadly symptoms begin. Her house has been renovated, and whatever her living quarters were cleaned and remodelled with are now rebelling against her. Her panic over her worsening conditions feels extremely real, like we are watching a loved one ill (or, worse, in the act of slowly dying). These signs can happen at any time, and they change their form into a whole series of devastating responses. Horror films are all about vulnerability, but Safe really goes the extra mile. Where should Carol run to? How can she protect herself? Literally her living is killing her. Of course, it is the human made chemicals and materials around her that are harming her, but one can’t exactly just get away from that, right?
The first two acts (of three) are incredibly disturbing. No matter what advice Carol is given, she only worsens in her health. Any signs of progress are red herrings. She is completely helpless. It almost feels perverted when we watch her suffer, as if we are an onlooker that is not willing to help. Whichever purpose you believe (to bring attention to what it is like to have your body break down from AIDS, or to show that our own inventions will slowly kill us like they’re killing the planet), Safe is effective. If the final act wasn’t of a different nature, I think the film would actually have me go insane with terror.
The worse Carol gets, the more vulnerable Safe feels: it’s a horror film that can get to anyone watching.
Alas, the final act is like an extremely long epilogue: an approach to some sort of resolution that may not be ideal but is the only idea that can even remotely work. Without spoiling, Safe becomes a different film that carries two natures: intended solace, and radiating discomfort. It is horrifying in a different sense: I don’t feel like I can place myself in these shoes, but I do shudder at the thought that this is the best that it can get for sufferers. In order to be able to live in this world again, one basically has to escape it nearly entirely (as a habitable place, a society to be a part of, and a mindset). This is where Safe finally feels, well, safe, but it is an answer that is so foreign to many of us, that it feels alien and unorthodox in its own way. Is this really a happy ending, or just the happiest ending we could get? I said earlier that Safe didn’t drive me insane because of this final act. However, it still lingers with me, like a nightmare I cannot shake off. It will forever haunt me. Todd Haynes’ intention (to have you fully invested and listening) is a success. Safe will leave you feeling anything but.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.