Safe House

I will start by admitting that I'm a Star Trek fan, and in particular a Next Gen fan. So yes, I have a bias towards liking Stewart, although I think most can agree he is a skilled actor.

That concession aside, and as my summary suggests, this is not an epic movie, just a short story. I loved the set design, which was quite clever; where most movies tend to create the impression of big houses and locales, this one manages to create the impression of close spaces, as appropriate for a fortress in suburbia.

You will continue to guess at whether or not Stewart's paranoia is justified or just symptoms of Alzheimer's until the very end. Stewart is well fitted for the part, or at the very least he was convincing to me. I think this particular says something since I'm used to seeing him as Captain Picard.

I wouldn't try to sell this off as an accurate portrayal of how DIA operatives act when they retire. I wouldn't know anything about that. I don't even know if there is such a thing as the DIA.

What I will say is that the movie is best taken as a diversion, a fun romp that keeps you interested, but it doesn't grip you like an epic. Perhaps rightly so, since the subject matter doesn't fit an epic movie anyway.

As a final note, I still don't see anything wrong with genre mixing. Why can't you have a drama that's funny, or a comedy with serious action, or whatever it is you want to blend? If it works it works, if it doesn't it doesn't, and it works for me here. (See as an example "The Big Hit," which the writer called a "hip-hop comic Hong Kong action movie") This movie is a small little tidbit, to be taken and enjoyed as such. 8/10

I usually don't rent movies from the video store that I haven't heard of before, except from another video store. Chances are I'll end up watching something that deserved the straight-to-video fate it received. Every once in a while I need to be reminded why. "Safe House" is that reminder.

The house that Patrick Stewart's character lives in is a real beauty. If I had that kind of money, I'd be happy to live there -- Mace Sowell wouldn't even have to take any of the decor or furniture with him. I mean, aside from the fact that it has more weaponry than the United States Marine Corps and Ghengis Khan's army put together, Sowell is really living it up. If there's one line of truth in the screenplay, it's when Kimberly Williams compliments him on his great taste.

Plot holes are too great in number to count, and it's a waste of energy to resent a ludicrous twist ending when the whole movie has been pulling the rug out from under you up until then. What I did resent was the really awful acting job by Stewart. I know he's a good actor; he did "A Christmas Carol" on stage, and played all the characters. He gives the "Star Trek" films, like the TV series they are based on, a solid foundation. He gave an outstanding supporting performance in "Conspiracy Theory." Here he just isn't suited for the role. I wasn't able to accept him as an Alzheimer's sufferer, or even an infirm old man. He's about as believable as Denzel Washington would be as a movie villain -- who's going to buy that?

Minus Stewart, I would have liked to have seen a movie about a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and his dealings with his beautiful young caretaker (though you might skip the romance angle). That part of the story thankfully manages to avoid the "Driving Miss Daisy" cliches, if not the "Charly" cliches. Even better, I wouldn't mind a movie about an ex-DIA operative shacking himself up in a SoCal mansion with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of high-tech security equipment and heavy artillery, and his constant "drills." But both? I don't think so. By the end of "Safe House" I was tired of the characters, tired of being jerked around, tired of the laughable dialogue, and tired of the pool cleaner's movie star impersonations. But I was not tired of looking around that house.

This is a film about paranoia. When you think you're being watched, your every move being documented, your every action recorded and analyzed. Mace Sowell, an ex-military officer from a covert operations team no one knows about, is confined to his home, because he fears for his life. His daughter doesn't think that he is in danger, instead, she just thinks he's getting senile, or maybe he's just paranoid. He regularly runs 'drills' in order to keep himself prepared for any direct strike on his house. Meanwhile, he also discovers that he's slowly developing Alzheimer's Disease, which only makes things worse. The plot is great, the idea is quite original, and the movie moves along at a great pace; every scene has some development in the plot, and often it also has some great humor. The film delivers a great sense of paranoia all the way through. The acting is great, both by Patrick Stewart and Kimberly Williams. The consistent paranoia, the various intense scenes that are easily explained once they're over, the overall mood of the film, it all leads up to an exciting climax that only few will be able to figure out until it happens. All in all, a great thriller about paranoia. I recommend this to fans of thrillers, especially fans that are fond of conspiracy theories and paranoia in thrillers. 8/10

"Safe House" from 1998 stars Patrick Stewart, Kimberly Williams, and Hector Elizondo.

Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a former operative for the DIA (not CIA as he's quick to point out) - the Defense Intelligence Agency. Now retired, he lives as if he is about to be killed any second. In his bed is a dummy version of him, while he sleeps in another area; he has a room full of computer monitors which track what's happening on his property, monitors conversations, and he seems to always be signing into something top secret. When he goes out in the car with his daughter Michelle (Joy Kilpatrick), he is heavily disguised and lying on the floor in the back seat. His doctor (Elizondo) prescribes medication for him that he won't take. He periodically schedules "drills" which includes such things as attacks on his home where a masked man (actually his friend Marc) uses his maid as a human shield.

It's clear to Michelle that her father needs round the clock care, as he's in the early stages of Alzheimer's. In order to allow him to stay at home, she hires a social worker, Andi Travers (Williams) to stay with him. Over time, the two form a bond. He tells her that he has enough evidence against his old boss at the DIA, Thomas Michelmore, who is running for President, to ruin his career. Michelmore has already had several people eliminated who knew too much, and Mace believes he is next.

Mace has this evidence on a server that will email it to every news outlet in the world unless it's reset with a new password every 24 hours.

So the question becomes - okay, he probably is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, but is he just paranoid or is someone really out to get him? Is any of this true? It's clear his daughter, her husband, and Mace's doctor don't believe him. Will Andi?

Really fantastic film that keeps you absorbed and involved until the very end with lots of surprise action and humor, all leading up to a fantastic finale.

Patrick Stewart is wonderful as a man who realizes he's going over the edge and fights every second to stave off dementia. Kimberly Williams as his patient and level-headed caretaker does an excellent job throughout, as does James Harlow (Marc) who is constantly coming up with new impressions of actors, everyone from Jim Nabors to Jimmy Stewart.

Highly recommended.

This is a great film that premeired as a Showtime original picture in 1999, I believe. The plot is awesome, and it will leave you guessing the entire time, it's very entertaining to watch, even tho you are watching a poor man drift further and further into Alzheimer's disease. The setting of the film is in a very lavish, very expensive house in which a very rich man (Patrick Stewart) lives. After being diagnosed with the disease, his daughter decides he needs someone at the house to take care of him and whatever else needs taken care of. He is a proud man, and he's very stubborn in that he doesn't think he needs anyone to live with him. He is grouchy and rude to begin with, but he begins to warm up to the hired help (the bride in the movie 'Father of the Bride'--Kimberly Williams, I think?)...anyhow...it's been a while since I've seen the movie, but I remember he was involved in very top secret stuff during his career, and he is paranoid that someone is out to kill him. You see him thru out the movie practicing with a gun in and outside of his house (he won't leave the yard, he's so paranoid.) There is that element to the film, but there is also a much lighter note on top of everything. It's a comedy, a 'buddy' movie, and an adventure all in one. It is beautifully shot, unlike some of the originals you'll see on Showtime, and it was a nice change from most of the films they have done in the past. Stewart does a superb job, and he keeps you entertained thru the entire film. On the subject of plot changes and surprises...be prepared, it is very good in this way at the end.