As is often the case in a \u201cdisease movie\u201d \u2013 as Haynes calls it in his introduction to the published screenplay \u2013 the one in Safe<\/em> initially manifests itself with a tiny, unexplained sneeze. It\u2019s an early sign something is wrong with San Fernando Valley housewife Carol White (Julianne Moore), but it takes a while for other symptoms to appear. The next morning, her husband Greg (Xander Berkeley) asks how her sinuses are and she says, \u201cBetter,\u201d so she\u2019s able to go through the motions of an ordinary day for her: gardening, aerobics, visiting a friend whose brother has died (but not of AIDS, she\u2019s quick to clarify when Carol makes the allusion). It\u2019s only when she gets home and discovers the department store has delivered the wrong color couch (black instead of teal) that her placid, well-ordered life is disrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next morning, while workmen are repainting her cabinets, Carol has a slight feeling of dizziness, but deep breathing and a full glass of milk gives her the strength to pick up the dry cleaning and have it out with the department store\u2019s shipping manager. Any sense of accomplishment evaporates on the drive home, though, when vehicle exhaust fumes cause a major coughing fit and a full-blown panic attack when she can\u2019t find a place to pull over and catch her breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A visit to her doctor is inconclusive, and a second appointment becomes necessary when getting a perm triggers a nosebleed and she vomits when Greg hugs her after using aerosol deodorant and hairspray. (He tries not to take it personally, but she\u2019s also begged off sex for a week because of her nightly headaches, and later says she can\u2019t sleep in the same room because of \u201cthe air, the smell.\u201d) Mirroring Greg\u2019s frustration, their doctor refers Carol to a psychiatrist, who is unhelpful in the extreme, but by that time she\u2019s already seen a flyer at her health club that reads, \u201cDo you smell FUMES?\u201d This clues her in that it\u2019s not all in her head; that she\u2019s far from the only person who might be \u201callergic to the 20th century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The early passages of Safe<\/em> are highly reminiscent of the scenes in The Exorcist<\/em> of Regan being examined by various medical professionals who are dumbfounded by the manifestations of her nascent possession. That film\u2019s infamous spinal tap is even echoed by Carol\u2019s visit to an allergist who sticks her with a dozen needles to determine what she might be allergic to. Between doctor visits and attending seminars about \u201cenvironmental illness,\u201d Carol\u2019s attempts to maintain her social calendar go awry when she has a particularly scary attack at a baby shower (where it\u2019s revealed she\u2019s a subject of gossip amongst her so-called friends) and winds up in the hospital after walking into her dry cleaner\u2019s while it\u2019s being fumigated. Eventually, her only recourse is to retreat to the Wrenwood Center, a \u201cchemical-free zone\u201d which is called \u201ca kind of safe haven for our troubled times\u201d by its sketchy founder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The shift in setting is pivotal for Carol and the film, since up that point both have been drowning in pastels, which are everywhere from her home to her hospital room. Abandoning the first half\u2019s urban landscapes for Wrenwood\u2019s desert vistas, Carol makes the rounds with her ever-present oxygen tank, one of the crutches brought with her from civilization. Introduced to the rest of the group as a \u201clong-termer,\u201d Carol\u2019s road to recovery is rocky from the start, and the cult-like vibe isn\u2019t helped by the jargon-heavy language all are encouraged to use. (The talk of getting \u201cclear\u201d raises the specter of Scientology more readily today than it did 30 years ago.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout, Moore makes the most of her first lead, playing a character whose body is betraying her at every step, and who has to fight to make herself and her concerns heard. Unsurprisingly, as Haynes has gone on to bigger films, he continues to write challenging parts for her, including her Oscar-nominated turn in Far from Heaven<\/em> (the \u201cwomen\u2019s picture\u201d to Safe<\/em>\u2019s \u201cdisease movie\u201d). As for the film that brought them together, Safe<\/em> has gained extra resonance in the past five years, as people were forced to wear masks and socially distance to protect themselves. And it is likely to continue to be relevant as more mysterious ailments make themselves known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSafe\u201d is available for <\/em>rent or purchase<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/safe2-1024x576.png\")
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