Safe

Todd Haynes presents a revisionist take on the paranoia thriller with this story of a Southern California housewife who suddenly falls victim to an inexplicable, apparently incurable illness. Carol White (Julianne Moore) lives with her husband and son in suburban comfort until she collapses one day, ...more

After the formal acrobatics of Poison, his 1991 feature debut, writer-director Todd Haynes applied his rigorous, philosophical aesthetic to the venerable genre of the "disease film" with Safe. In the process, Haynes asserted himself not only as a highly skilled, unconventional auteur but also as a savvy chronicler of late-century fear and dread. The film's subject matter lends itself to a plethora of interpretations -- environmental cautionary tale, satire of spiritual vacancy, AIDS allegory -- ...more