"The Safety of Objects" begins as a film about loss, but morphs into a movie about recovery. Each of the characters -- all of whom are neighbors in a upper middle class neighborhood -- suffered some form of devastation and, in the beginnning of the film, are at similar breaking points in their grief.
The acting is the film's strongest asset, with every character bringing a unique quality and incredible talent to the diverse cast.
Glenn Close's character, Esther, is the most outwardly crushed. Her teenaged son is in a hopeless coma and she is his sole caretaker. Her husband (Robert Klein) is too distant and distraught to provide relief, and her daughter (Jessica Campbell) is too overwhelmed by her own feelings of loss and guilt to be much more than an occasional helping hand.
Close is fabulous in this film. She is softer and more vulnerable than we've ever seen her -- even her features appear less rugged and angular.
Dermot Mulroney, who thankfully cut his mullet after his last performance in "About Schmid," is also outstanding as a conservative workaholic who unravels after his law firm doesn't offer him a partnership. Mulroney has approached his life as if it were a check-list: Attractive wife? Check. Good job? Check. Normal kids? Check. But when he walks out on his work and spends more time with his family, Mulroney becomes aware of their imperfections as he struggles with the harsh life lesson that hard work doesn't guarantee reward.
A very believable Patricia Clarkson is going through a difficult divorce and is the mother of two girls, one of whom is a tomboy (perhaps a lesbian) and the other autistic. Meanwhile, Mary Kay Place (who starred with Close in "The Big Chill") can't cope with her faded youth and consequently turns to the latest exercise fads in attempt to turn back the clock.
And finally, the most unsettling character is the block's handsome handyman, Randy. Played by Timothy Olyphant, Randy has suffered incredible misfortune and stars in the fim's most chilling scene.
Although this sounds like a long list of pathetic characters, the uplifting aspect of this movie is how -- as friends and neighbors who are deeply connected -- they help each other survive their losses.
Luckily for viewers, many of the characters heal through humorous situations. Close's character finally has her catharsis after losing a SUV in a shopping mall contest and Mulroney's lonely son, Jake, comes of age with a plastic doll.
Director Rose Torche reminds us (a little heavy handedly perhaps) that there is no safety in objects, only in love. This is something these neighbors temporarily forgot in the process of turning inward to lick their own wounds.
"The Safety of Objects" opens Fri., April 4 at the Downer Theatre.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
