Safe

Directed by Todd Haynes, Safe follows an affluent homemaker (Julianne Moore’s Carol) as she becomes convinced that she’s allergic to modern society. Filmmaker Haynes, armed with his own screenplay, delivers an exceedingly (and, sometimes, excessively) deliberate endeavor that is, regardless, quite mesmerizing for the duration of its runtime, as Haynes offers up a stirring story that’s elevated by its myriad of above-average attributes – with this particularly true of Moore’s predictably first-class performance and Alex Nepomniaschy’s often spellbinding visuals. (There are, in terms of the latter, a wide, impressive assortment of memorable, eye-popping shots and compositions, including a terrific (and virtually iconic) dolly zoom of Carol quietly freaking out.) And while the picture admittedly loses its vice-tight grip on the viewer once it segues into a compelling yet far-from-enthralling second half, Safe, which concludes with a haunting final scene, ultimately comes off as a palpably prescient piece of work that holds up just as well all these years later.

***1/2 out of ****