Safe Spaces

By: Ashlee Dell’Arciprete

From its core, writer and director Daniel Schecter’s latest film Safe Spaces tackles the controversial debate of college campuses being safe spaces in a post #MeToo world. Should college campuses be able to be so-called “safe spaces” for students thrive freely without fear of being triggered or should they be used for open dialogue? That is the question that Safe Spaces attempts to answer. Under the umbrella of this issue in the film, Safe Spaces is a witty and entertaining portrayal of a family dealing with the impending death of its matriarch.

In the film, which premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, Josh (Justin Long) is an adjunct professor in New York City teaching a creative writing class. He tries to be the quintessential “cool guy” professor who you would expect to find as a literature teacher. A situation with a student sharing her story leads another student to feel triggered and unsafe in his classroom. Josh is initially unable to understand this at first, which gets him in trouble with the school’s administration.

On top of this central plot, his grandmother (Lynn Cohen) is dying and Josh and his family must navigate the forthcoming loss and say their goodbyes before it’s too late. However, there is much family drama in the family. Josh’s sister (Kate Berlant) is staying with him while he tries to navigate the interesting dynamic between his mother (Fran Drescher) and father (Richard Schiff), who are separated. The numerous subplots keep the film interesting and helps with how each scene moves throughout the production. Although the movie never takes an actual stance when the concerns of the student come to light, Safe Spaces is nuanced and all about family and having empathy and compassion for others, whether they may be close to you or complete strangers.

The cast in this film is great, especially in the way the characters jumps off one another in their delivery. As someone who knows Justin Long particularly from his role as Bartleby Gaines in Accepted, it is great to see him in a more dramatic role. But, alas, the natural awkwardness and hesitation when he delivers his lines still peeks through along with his great comedic timing. Fran Drescher and Richard Schiff are also outstanding in the film.

Daniel Schecter directed, edited and wrote the screenplay to Safe Spaces. This is Schecter’s fifth film. Schecter’s direction combined with Gregory J. Wilson’s cinematography keeps the movie at a great pace throughout. Like his other projects, Schecter includes some of his own life experiences into Safe Spaces as inspiration, which he dubbed a “quasi-autobiographical narrative film” as told to us at Tribeca. The screenplay was littered with humor and had the ability to quickly turn an emotional scene into non-stop laughter. And, surprisingly, the most humorous scenes are those dealing the closest with death.

Overall, Safe Spaces is honest with heart, humor and an envious family dynamic. Justin Long, Fran Drescher, Richard Schiff and the rest of the cast make for a great and believable ensemble film. Had Safe Spaces not have had the humor that it did, the script may have come off a lot different when translated to screen. Often times the humor can lean more towards uncomfortable and in the wrong place at the wrong time, but simultaneously it portrays the unique relationship between the members of the Cohen family–and does it well. Ultimately, Safe Spaces takes a nuanced approach to a post #MeToo environment and grief surrounding the impending loss of a loved one.

Safe Spaces held its world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and is currently seeking distribution.