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Jan 21, 2015 Web Exclusive By John Oursler

In Safe, director Todd Haynes and star Julianne Moore created a perfect film, and achieved a collaborative symbiosis for the ages. The sturdy folks at the Criterion Collection heve saved the film from relative obscurity with a pristine renovation and repackaging that highlights an irreproachable artistry and singular vision.

Carol White (Moore) is a mysteriously melancholic San Fernando Valley housewife, not particularly tormented nor effusive, just living her life day-to-day through a crushingly prosaic parade of routines—gym in the morning, overseeing the delivery of conspicuously overpriced furnishings in the afternoon—there’s nothing noteworthy to write home about. Speaking of homes, it’s in hers that things start to unravel slowly and inexplicably. Indifference begins to manifest itself psychosomatically through nosebleeds and fatigue and chronic pain, all from ostensibly unidentifiable symptoms; Carol’s malady is more domestic than tropical. Her husband is unhelpful though supportive, shown by his willingness to accompany her to a support group for those suffering through “Environmental Illness,” which quickly leads to an indefinite stay at a treatment facility for similarly addled individuals.

What distinguishes the film into the upper-echelon of cinema is its ability to ingest genres in an effort to produce a spectacularly unique modernization of Sirkian melodrama; in Safe, the domestic horror film is born. This is accomplished primarily through Haynes’s claustrophobic framing, often shooting in meticulously composed frames, oppressively so to reflect the maddeningly ordinary nature of Carol’s life. Moore has never been better, achieving a pinnacle in what’s progressed into a spectacular career. She became famous for her admirable propensity for outburst (Magnolia, Short Cuts), and there are a few doozies of those here as well. But it’s mostly in her restraint that her tangible trauma is realized, as you can see in her expressive countenance a yearning for something more, perhaps something ineffable (true satisfaction?). A scene where Carol slowly licks an ice cream cone as Haynes’s fixed frame slowly descends upon her face is as frightening as anything in the entire Saw franchise.

Thematically, Safe is an indictment of everything from consumer culture to expected housewifedom. It would’ve been easy for the occasionally abject tone to veer into unintentional comedy, particularly in those aforementioned outburst scenes. But Haynes has full commitment in the idea of this modern malaise as truth, and because of that that Safe righttfully occupies a place amongst the annals of cinema’s greatest achievements.

Criterion’s treatment of the film is expectedly impressive. Included is: The Suicide, a Haynes short from 1978 that even he believed to have been lost until recently; an extensive conversation between Moore and Haynes on the eve of the film’s 20th anniversary that shows how their artistic connection bore from the film; an interview with legendary producer of New Queer Cinema Christine Vachon; an essay by the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s programming director Dennis Lim on the film’s impact; and a full-length audio commentary featuring Haynes, Moore and Vachon. (www.criterion.com)

Author rating: 10/10