The Safety of Objects
IFC Films | Release Date: March 7, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyEddie Cockrell
A genuine and tangible fondness and respect for the characters and their eccentricities. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDana Stevens
With the help of an ensemble that is nearly flawless, she (Troche) assembles the damaged human elements of Ms. Homes's world with patience and precision, and more often than not chooses dry understatement over easy satire or obvious sentiment. Read full review
80
SalonLaura Miller
All the acting in it is flawless, an overflowing handful of polished jewels. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
This is not the easiest film in the world to untangle, but our attentions are soon rewarded. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
The terrific ensemble acting and Troche’s genuine, nonjudgmental interest in exploring the weird places wounded people go, both internally and externally, amount to an insulated but moving portrait of the real nuclear family. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Troche is most interested in exploring the secret lives hidden inside freshly painted Colonials, and what she finds is that everyone's secret is exactly the same: a crushing inability to connect with the people closest to them. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Eloquently adapted from the collection of A.M. Homes stories of the same title, Troche's film derives its voltage from the way it burrows to find that the connections within -- and among -- families are very much alive. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Presented with such confidence, such care, that we love all of the characters, even if we don't like them. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The interwoven stories are haunting, but also darkly funny. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
A couple of unexpected revelations in the final act pack an emotional wallop that shifts the film (shot in clean, uncluttered takes) into the realm of old-fashioned tearjerker, but the tears are wholly earned. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
For all of Troche's skill and talent, The Safety of Objects (a splendid title) nevertheless tries to cover too much territory. In movies, as elsewhere, a little less sometimes can add up to a lot more. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The film paints a by now familiar picture of suburbia as a pit of dysfunction, though some nice dark-humored moments and generally fine performances make up for a lot. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The disciplined performances play against schmaltz, and the casting is inspired. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Ray Conlogue
It's a movie located in an interesting place, but without quite enough self-confidence really to inhabit it. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The film leaves you dissatisfied, as though you'd just spent two hours with a menagerie of plastic white people. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
The Safety of Objects doesn't carry the power of Ang Lee's "The Ice Storm," a similarly themed work about WASPS in crisis. Objects is too artificial, clunky with too many preposterous situations. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Not a complete waste of time, but it doesn't make us FEEL the way better dramas do, and, in the end, it lacks the qualities that would make it memorable or powerful. Read full review
60
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
The result is not a quilt, just a succession of story snippets that keep interrupting one another. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Outside of its star power, it reeks of indie film and doesn't hold much mainstream steam. Read full review
50
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Although deft editing provides neat segues, "Safety" suffers from a case of too many dramas, too little time. Characters are given no chance to develop and, too often, their behavior turns on a dime, hurtling off into a parallel universe of extreme acts. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Troche has bitten off quite a bit here, and it's too much for her to chew properly. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Flat and unconvincing. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The overall effect is imaginative but overambitious, though Troche unquestionably has cinematic talent. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Troche's tone is so relentlessly, depressingly monotonous that the characters seem trapped in a narrow emotional range. They live out their miserable lives in one lachrymose sequence after another, and for us there is no relief. Read full review
40
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
Though agile edits keep things moving, in braiding several tales into one tight suburban tangle, character development takes more shortcuts than "Short Cuts." Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Although it has moments of charm and poignancy -- this is one of Glenn Close's best hours -- the scheme and scope of the movie are just too darned obvious. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The Safety of Objects is just another stilted comic-dramatic essay examining the mold in the white bread. Read full review
30
Washington PostPhilip Kennicott
None of them is nasty enough to be interesting, nor nice enough to be sympathetic. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A noble attempt that doesn't hang together. Read full review
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