Safe

Safe

Release Date

1995

Director

  • Todd Haynes

Cast

  • Julianne Moore
  • Xander Berkeley
  • Dean Norris

An affluent and unexceptional homemaker in the suburbs develops multiple chemical sensitivity.

Carol White (Julianne Moore) lives with her husband and son in suburban comfort until she collapses one day, for no apparent reason. Her condition worsens in the weeks that follow, as she suffers from coughing fits, exhaustion, and spontaneous nose bleeds, triggered by sources as disparate as car exhaust, cologne, and the sun. Failing to find any medical explanation for her maladies, her doctor refers her to a psychiatrist, who suggests that her physical ailments are psychosomatic—a theory echoed by her callous and increasingly frustrated husband. At her wits' end, Carol withdraws to an expensive New Age retreat for sufferers of "20th century disease," where the community's guru (Peter Friedman) champions a dubious regimen of diet, climate control, introspection, and self-love.



Past Programs

2016

New Science on Environmental Diseases

Austin Film Society, Austin, TX

2017

2023

It’s all in your head: Medical gaslighting in women’s health

Media Arts Center San Diego, San Diego, CA