Summary:
An incident at his college paired with a family emergency causes a NYC professor to reevaluate his life, values, and the current political climate.
My Thoughts:
I watched this film as part of True Myth Media’s trip to the 2019 Traverse City Film Festival. It was actually the first film I watched at that festival, so it more or less set the tone for the rest of the weekend, and I must say, I felt as if this film kicked things off with a bang.
I knew next to nothing about this film going in, and as I sat in my seat waiting for the picture to begin, the director, Daniel Schechter (director of “Supporting Characters” (2012)) appeared onstage to say that knowing nothing about the movie was the best way to approach it. So, contentedly, I kicked back and let the story wash over me.
Fair warning to the reader, there will be some spoilers in the review ahead, so if you’d rather just go into this film blind, as I did, and you’d just like to know if I recommend it; yes, I do. I think this film addresses a lot of hot topical issues that many people are afraid to address, and it does it in a way that doesn’t feel tawdry or like it’s pandering to one particular demographic. I also think this film has one of Justin Long’s finest performances.
“Embarrass yourself. Write what hurts.”
Josh (Justin Long, “Drag Me to Hell”) is a professor at an NYC college, whom, after a heated discussion in a classroom, discovers that he has made a certain student feel uncomfortable. At the same time, Josh’s Grandmother (Lynn Cohen, “Synecdoche, New York”) is nearing the end of her life, and Josh takes it into his own hands to try to reconnect with his family members.
The opening scene of this film is wonderfully written because it perfectly balances humor and underlying tension in a way that could lead to multiple interpretations based on one’s prior experiences, which, in the end, turns out to be the primary theme of this movie. As Josh sits in the front of his classroom, leading a discussion about a bit of writing by one of his students, an argument arises about the authenticity of the story being told. When pressured, the female student who wrote the piece admits that what she wrote was not true, and what actually happened ended an awkward sexual encounter. Josh then asks the class if the encounter was more compelling than the original ending, and most of the class affirms him. The scene ends with Josh believing he’s done a great service to the class by showing them that honest truth, while it might sometimes be messy, is almost always more interesting than something that takes the easy way out. Later, two members of the schoolboard (played by Becky Ann Baker, “Jacob’s Ladder” and Samrat Chakrabarti, “Stray Dolls”) approach Josh and let them know that a different student, not the one who told the story, was made to feel uncomfortable because the way the situation was handled. He does not believe he did anything wrong, as he did not actually tell the story, in his mind he was just prompting discussion. The schoolboard asks him to apologize and he wrestles with what to do; should he stick to what he believes, or, should he apologize and let the whole thing blow over?
Some of my favorite films are the ones that don’t have much ostensible plot movement at first glance. I like films where characters just meander aimlessly as they work through certain social issues, or reevaluate their place in their own lives, and really, that’s what this film is all about. It’s about taking a temperature reading in the current political climate and deciding if it’s time to make a meaningful and purposeful change in the way we live our lives. Josh is not a bad guy, though he does has his issues; he’s a bit self-centered, he thinks he can fix everyone’s problems for them and attempts to do so, and sometimes he just won’t shut up enough for other people to get a word in. At the same time, Josh is trying. He makes a honest effort to connect with his family as his grandmother lies dying in the hospital, even going out of his way multiple times to try to convince his father (Richard Schiff, ”Seven”) to visit her, though his relationship with her over the last years has been strained (Grandma is mom’s mom and the parents are divorced).
Through these sequences we begin to get a sense of who Josh is and what he truly believes, and we also get passing interactions with minor characters that gently play on the import and sometimes uncomfortable social issues and how he as a white, straight, cisgender male plays into those issues. He approaches certain situations with as much gravitas as he can, but in the end, sometimes, he just finds himself at a loss for what to do. Many of the situations Josh finds himself in don’t seem to really have an obvious answer as to what truly is ‘The Right Thing’ to do, and when he feels at a loss he feels as if he needs to fix it, when, in the end, all he really needs to do is listen, understand, and try to sympathize with the people he may have inadvertently hurt or offended.
Beyond making a few important points, this film is also really funny. The theater in which I saw this movie was mostly full, and the crowd seemed to absolutely eat the humor up. Most of the jokes arises from uncomfortable or awkward situations, but there are plenty of great character chemistry moments, one liners, jokes that were previously set up and executed flawlessly, and though many of the jokes revolve around hot issues, none of it ever feels forced, crass, or ill-conceived; it feels real and honest.
I must admit the ending didn’t pack the emotional punch that I wanted from the film. I understood what Schechter was trying to do by placing Josh in a “safe space” with his family, but I wanted a little more from the final scene in the car. Also, it looked as if the camera crew was limited with their lens choices, and they were forced to make due. As this is an independent film I can’t really fault them too much for that, but there were a few weird framing choices, primarily in dialogue-heavy scenes. Those complaints still feel pretty minor when looking at the rest of the film.
Verdict:
I think the reason I enjoyed this film so much is that it doesn’t really claim to have any answers. It just asks that you open your ears and mind to the changing climate, and shut up for a while, at least long enough to hear the other voices and opinions around you. Overall, “Safe Spaces” was a very enjoyable, very ‘woke’ comedy that feels right at home in 2019.
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