Safe

beautifully shot and left me with sooo many questions. was this about toxic positivity or self-help culture or health hysteria? part of me felt carol was suffering from AIDS. the symptoms were clear from the beginning, and this film's release date makes this commentary much more biting. the score feels alien. the masked figure centered on the poster is in only one scene. it looks debilitated -- stumbling across flat, scorched earth -- close to human, closer to something else. are we meant to adopt the exclusionary perspective of someone afraid of people living with AIDS? safe -- at its core -- is a horror movie. it's one where the threat at large is undetectable and unidentifiable. yet across two hours, its eerie periphery is intensely palpable. todd haynes remains one of my favorite directors working today. very happy this film is the first purchase i've made for my criterion collection.