Rating: 
Summary: 3 stars for the acting - 1/2 star for the plot = 2 1/2 stars
Review: I really wanted to like this film. I really did. The theatrical trailer looked promising, the ensemble cast of excellent actors excited me and the surreal quality of the cinematography was stunning. However, the film falls apart halfway through, but not for a lack of trying. All the actors give excellent performances and the direction was interesting. It was the story that was a bit thin. After the first hour the movie becomes a bit contrived and collapsed under its over ambitious weight. If I had to hear Paul's Song one more time, I swear I was going to pull out what little bit of hair I have left on my head. In its attempt to be another American Beauty-esque slice of suburban life, The Safety of Objects becomes a caricature of itself. Even though the acting is top notch it's hard to care about the characters in this incestuous (not in the true sense of the word) suburban neighborhood. Who cares that Annette was sleeping with Paul? Who cares about Jim's unexplained reason for helping Esther win a car? I quickly lost interest with the exception of the kid in love with his sister's Barbie doll. Well needed comic relief in an otherwise drab film. The only jaw dropping revelation I experienced was Esther's guilt inducing reason for keeping her comatose son alive. The Safety of Objects probably was better as a collection of short stories than one cohesive film. One of the review blurbs on the cover says "Comical!" and I agree although not in a good way. See this film for great performances from Glenn Close, Patricia Clarkson, Dermot Mulroney and the like but check out the Ice Storm, American Beauty or Magnolia for excellent examples of suburbia slice-of-life films in the intertwined multi-character plotline vein.
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful
Review: I thought the film was very well done. The acting was fabulous.I only wish I could find a soundtrack!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I was really dragged into the story of the characters and how their lives crossed. It also shows how different everyone's lives are, yet people still go through the same emotions. I can't help to feel for each character, because at some point in our lives we've all felt it..desperation, love, sadness a quick release...This movie isn't for everyone, and it is a little strange, but so is life...
Rating:
Summary: Amazing movie
Review: I was really touched by this movie. I previously had read the great book by A.M. Homes in which this movie is based on, a collection of short stories called THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS. The movie is of the same name, and while not as good as the book, is still a great movie. The movie deepens the storyline as the plots interconnect and each person's actions have a direct effect to what happens in the movie. Basically, the movie is about 4 families living in suburbia, and they each have their own internal demons about a certain event. It's like a yarn ball, everything is tangled up and comes unraveled eventually. Top notch performances by Glenn Close, Jessica Campbell, Dermot Mulroney, Patricia Clarkson, and more. This was a really moving movie, it doesn't make sense at the beginning but once everything is explained, it's well worth the travel. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Original & touching
Review: I've just seen this movie before it comes out in France Feb 26th. It was supposed to come out a while ago, but I was not disappointed. The actors are all great : the kids as well as Glenn Close or Dermot Mulroney.
The story about those 4 middle class families may remind one of Altman's "L.A. Story" but Rose Troche's direction is less hectic. And, for once, 2 hours don't seem too long for getting to be comfortable with each character takes some time.
Sometimes disturbing, this is an unsual but great movie.
Rating: 
Summary: To confused to get emotional
Review: Im a sucker when it comes to emotionality in films and will often get teary during movies: Big Fish, Seabiscuit, etc. This movie was so confusing that instead of getting emotionally involved with any of the characters I found myself concentrating more on trying to figure out what was happening in the story. I felt that there were two really interesting parts in the movie, one where a young boy holds conversations with his sisters barbie doll but finds out that a real girl is much better and another scene where a young girl gets abducted. Overall not a very well done movie which was disappointing for me since there are some excellent actors in the movie. The book was probably much better since it didnt need to be condensed into such a short time frame.
Rating:
Summary: To confused to get emotional
Review: Im a sucker when it comes to emotionality in films and will often get teary during movies: Big Fish, Seabiscuit, etc. This movie was so confusing that instead of getting emotionally involved with any of the characters I found myself concentrating more on trying to figure out what was happening in the story. I felt that there were two really interesting parts in the movie, one where a young boy holds conversations with his sisters barbie doll but finds out that a real girl is much better and another scene where a young girl gets abducted. Overall not a very well done movie which was disappointing for me since there are some excellent actors in the movie. The book was probably much better since it didnt need to be condensed into such a short time frame.
Rating: 
Summary: A Confused Mess!!!
Review: Large ensemble pieces like this take a great deal of directing skill, ala Robert Altman, that this filmmaker obviously did not have. The movement between stories of three different families and several individuals was awkward at best and completely muddled at worst. I also found myself not caring about these people, who struck me as uninteresting, unbelievable and unengaging. In addition, most of the actors, with the exception of the often wonderful Patricia Clarkson, either overacted or felt like cardboard cutouts of their characters. This was an abyssmally bad and silly film that should have gone straight to video with a warning on its cover that read "For less than mature audiences only."
Rating:
Summary: A good cast in a jumbbled film...
Review: Like MAGNOLIA and several other films released recently, THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS attempts to take a number of stories about life in suburbia and mold them into a single, interlocking narrative. However, the result is a mess. While the film boasts a good ensemble of talented actors (Glenn Close, Joshua Jackson, Dermot Mulroney, Timothy Olyphant, Jessica Campbell, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Klein, Moira Kelly, and others) who deliver relatively good performances, the film doesn't seem to have enough for all of them to do. And what they are allowed to do doesn't always make sense. For example, Dermot Mulroney's character becomes obsessed with helping Glenn Close's character win an SUV contest in a local mall instead of mending his on the brink relationship with his family. Why does he do this? I have absolutely no idea and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. There just doesn't seem to be a good reason for it. While I'll admit I was engrossed by the story as it unfolded, it was because I was waiting for a bigger payoff. Something that didn't seem so purposeless. The film does bring up some good points here and there but in the end the only thing that seems memorable about the film is Paul's Song by Bullet and Jessica Campbell that is constantly played throughout the film as if to help tie everything nicely together. As a matter of fact, the song, at times, almost convinced me that I liked the film more than I really did but in the end, it was just the song I was in to, not the movie. "In the morning, I hear the angels. They kiss our faces to help you smile. Oh, help me. We never touch. Please, remember I still believe in something beautiful. And you are all I need. Lift me up. I'm crying." - Paul's Song D
Rating:
Summary: not bad... just not really good
Review: Not a bad movie. Not a dynamic one either, but I think I liked this little film. Nice performances and movie making in general, although I think Joshua Jackson phoned in his role as "the unconscious guy". Haha. (Ok, so thats only funny if you've seen it.) I love the opening credits in this piece- the cuckoo clock-esque characters in their cookie cutter houses... and the little figure mowing the lawn... its almost worth a rent just for that. I think the problem with this story is that its nothing new and its really not very timely. The exposure of middle class suburbia as being less than paradise has been done and didnt strike a chord with me like other works in this genre have. I did like the way the characters were intertwined and the piecing it all together. Its similar to "Love Actually" in the multi-story layerings, but like "Love Actually" only a couple of those stories were interesting. The only character who actively engaged me was Randy the Poolboy. He was the most complex story in my opinion, but then is just left hanging at the end. Whatever message the director was trying to get across was lost in a pile of mixed emotions and over dramatic sequences.
In general its poorly directed, but not a bad watch if you're just looking for something new.
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