Safe House

• Director: Eric Steven Stahl
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Spy Film
• Movie Type: Psychological Thriller, Paranoid Thriller
• Themes: Political Corruption, Fathers and Daughters
• Main Cast: Patrick Stewart, Kimberly Williams, Hector Elizondo
• Release Year: 1998
• Country: US
• Run Time: 125 minutes

Plot

Patrick Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a retired government operative who possesses damaging information about a presidential hopeful, and holes himself up inside his secure compound because he fears reprisal. In order to protect himself, Sowell has designed a system whereby the information will be released to the public if he is not there to type in a password at regular intervals. This he believes will keep him from being assassinated, but just in case, he stages elaborate self-defense drills with unwitting servants, and tries to convince his family that the explanation he gave them about his career was a cover story to hide his true military affiliations. The problem is, Sowell is also suffering the early stages of Alzheimer's, so his daughter (Joy Kilpatrick) considers his paranoid stories to be delusional ravings. She hires a psychiatrist (Kimberly Williams) to analyze her father and watch over him, in the hopes of easing his dementia. Sowell initially distrusts his new companion, but begins to lower his guard and care for her deeply. Meanwhile, his disease is advancing, and if he can't remember the password, his critical information will be released prematurely and he'll be hunted down by his enemies. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Review

Safe House is a thoughtful, if gradually paced, thriller that explores a fascinating issue: how the crisis of a degenerative brain disease becomes greater when it involves someone burdened with secret information. Not only might the information die, or at least lose its credibility once the affliction reaches a certain level, but the Alzheimer's patient will also lose the ability to defend himself against his enemies, especially when his loved ones don't believe they exist. The intelligent subject matter and an unrestrained performance from Patrick Stewart elevate Safe House above the usual straight-to-video fodder. Stewart's work adds dimension to an already thoughtful screenplay, and the details of his blockading his home against outsiders -- the behavior of either a deranged fool or a prudent planner, it's hard to say which -- make for funny material with built-in ambiguity. Even the viewer is not always sure what's real and what's only a manifestation of Mace Sowell's henpecked mind. His relationship with the young psychiatrist (Kimberly Williams) develops in a manner free from cliché. All of this makes Safe House a minor original worth seeking out. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Patrick Stewart
• Kimberly Williams
• Hector Elizondo

Credit

Eric Steven Stahl - Director

Similar Movies

Nick of Time; Eye See You; The Conversation; The Manchurian Candidate; Conspiracy Theory; The Man Who Knew Too Much; Marathon Man

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