mechanical film school exercise

| Original Score: C | Feb 15, 2012

Though well-acted, Troche's third film, an adaptation of short stories, is a minor addition of a fractured, ensemble narrative to the overly populated genre of suburban malaise and anomie in the wake of the success of Mendes' Oscar-winner American Beauty

| Original Score: C | Jul 17, 2008

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 30, 2006

Four neighboring families, seven stories, one secret - one great movie.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 19, 2004

Troche has created a truly moving film, upsetting and uplifting in equal measure.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 5, 2003

...there's a lot worth recommending about the film.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 1, 2003

Simply put, there's too much going on, and too many fragile, damaged characters to fret appropriately over.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 8, 2003

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 23, 2003

A richly compelling movie that is as hard to forget as it is difficult to warm up to.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 6, 2003

The time required to introduce more than a dozen major characters eats into the two-hour film, leaving precious few minutes for development.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 6, 2003

A fairly deft sewing job of short stories by A.M. Homes.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 6, 2003

It's a movie located in an interesting place, but without quite enough self-confidence really to inhabit it.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 6, 2003

The sheer number and variety of miseries on view suggest a kind of wallowing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 10, 2003

The effectiveness of The Safety of Objects and all such 'burb-angst weepies comes down to how far viewers will go toward feeling empathetic, or even sympathetic, rather than resentful toward such self-absorbed and self-loathing characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 3, 2003

| Original Score: 9/10 | Mar 27, 2003

One compelling story intertwined gracelessly with countless others ranging from mediocre to unspeakably idiotic.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Mar 20, 2003

Great for dissecting the American dream, but for pure movie entertainment, look somewhere else

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 19, 2003

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 16, 2003

It offers a meaningful lesson in putting people first -- ones that surround us, shelter us emotionally, and sometimes come to define us.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 14, 2003

A graceful example of what movies can do so much better than other art forms: explore the nuances of human behavior.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 14, 2003