Safe (1995 film)

Safe is a 1995 American psychological drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes. The film stars Julianne Moore, Peter Friedman, Xander Berkeley, and James LeGros. Set in Los Angeles in 1987, it follows Carol White (Moore), a suburban housewife whose monotonous life abruptly changes when she becomes sick with a mysterious illness which she believes is caused by the environment around her. Principal photography began in Los Angeles on January 3, 1994, and concluded on February 13.

Safe premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 1995, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 30. Despite underperforming commercially, the film received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Moore's performance. It received four nominations at the 11th Independent Spirit Awards, Best Feature, Best Female Lead for Moore, and Best Director and Best Screenplay for Haynes.

Safe topped the "best film of the 1990s" poll by The Village Voice, and was described by critics as "the scariest film of the year", "a mesmerizing horror movie", and "a work of feminist counter-cinema". In 2015, Haynes said that the themes explored throughout the film, disease and immunity in a post-industrial landscape and how recovery is a burden often placed on victims of illness, were even more relevant than they were at the time of its release.