Nude Celebs: Jessica Campbell - A strong ensemble cast, expert direction and spot-on editing all work to bring A.M. Homes’ sprawling novel about suburban lives of quiet desperation to the screen. Writer/director Rose Troche crafts an Altman-esque picture during which the lives of several friends and neighbors are revealed as organically intertwined. The Trains, Jim and Susan (Dermut Mulrony and Moira Kelly), are dealing with his promotion at a time demanding, high-paid position and her possible adultery with a family friend. In the meantime, their son is perhaps unhealthily obsessed with their daughter’s cast aside Barbie doll. Their neighbors, the Golds (Glenn Close and Robert Klein), cope with tragedy in their home as their oldest son is comatose after an accident, yet he is the only one his mother can relate to. Their daughter (Jessica Campbell), in turn, struggles with her weight and adolescent sexuality. On the other side of the street is Annette Jennings, (Patricia Clarkson), a single-mom of a mentally handicapped son and a tomboy daughter whose ex-husband suddenly shows up to reclaim custody of his children. Finally, there are The Christiansons, who on the outside appear to the most healthy of American families, but their meticulous matriarch (Mary Kay Place) and her exercise-fanatic ways alienate her husband and two children.

It’s a lot to watch, and with a tremendous amount of cutting between the various stories, it can be confusing unless you’re immersed in the story without distraction. That said, the flipping between stories is judicious and it’s easy to be immersed, as all of the actors in the piece lends credence to their roles, a feat assisted by Troche’s articulate screenplay.

Yet no movie is perfect, and those who only enjoy stories where all things are explained and all loose ends are tied may want to skip this picture. The Safety of Objects is not going to answer life’s questions, but instead it puts the questions out on display, proffering some potential solutions for some, and leaving others totally without resolution. It’s a meditation on life that bears resemblance to American Beauty, only minus that movie’s histrionics and explosively Hollywood denouement.

• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: October 14, 2003
• Run Time: 121 minutes
• Production Company: Better Safe Productions Inc., Clear Blue Sky Productions, Infilm, Killer Films, Renaissance Films, Vulcan Productions