Safe (1995)

Set in 1987 in the San Fernando Valley (that's in Southern California), a housewife (Julianne Moore) suddenly develops a mysterious illness even though doctors tell her there's nothing wrong with her. As she gets more and more ill, she seeks out an alternative lifestyle in an Arizona commune. Written and directed by Todd Haynes (FAR FROM HEAVEN), this is a disturbing movie but in a good way. I'm fairly sure Haynes doesn't expect us to take the "new age" psychobabble spouted by the commune's leader seriously. He maintains we are responsible for all our own illnesses, that somehow it's our fault. Haynes perfectly encapsulates the distancing and fear as well as the loneliness of being ill when no one else either understands your sickness or tells you there's nothing wrong with you. Certainly in the current coronavirus environment, the film resonates. Julianne Moore gives a beautifully layered performance, no small feat considering her character is a cipher with no discernible personality. She seems to be an appendage of her husband (Xander Berkeley) and their affluent lifestyle. The film's ambiguous ending offers no solution. Has she traded one dependence for another? Powerful stuff and recommended if you haven't seen it. With Peter Friedman, Jessica Harper, James LeGros, Beth Grant, April Grace and Kate McGregor Stewart.