Safe

Carol White (Julianne Moore) leads a seemingly perfect life in the sun-drenched Los Angeles of the 1980s. She lives in a spacious villa, has a caring husband, and fills her days with fitness, garden parties, and adhering to social conventions. Slowly, however, strange symptoms begin to take over her life: headaches, breathing problems, unexplained fatigue. When doctors can find no cause, Carol becomes convinced that she is allergic to her environment: the modern world itself.

With SAFE, Todd Haynes paints a portrait of alienation, fear, and loneliness in a society that has no place for vulnerability. Carol’s search for understanding and recognition touches on experiences that many people coping with an illness will recognise: the invisible struggle with a world that often does not listen. Oscar winner Julianne Moore absolutely shines in this film; Carol is one of her most layered roles still to this date.