FILM · 1995 · UK
Safe
- Directed by
- Todd Haynes
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Studio
- American Playhouse, Chemical Films, Good Machine
78 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Carol White, a Los Angeles housewife in the late 1980s, comes down with a debilitating illness with no clear diagnosis.
78 Interesting Facts About Safe
Interesting Facts (16)
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Many interiors, including Carol's house, were shot in the homes of Todd Haynes's family and relatives. The exterior of the St. Tropez restaurant — seen in the scene following the dinner, in which Carol does not laugh at the vibrator joke — was notably filmed using the exterior of Haynes's parents' house. The street in the film's opening is also the street where their house stands, and his mother's car is visible in the shot.
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Multiple chemical sensitivity is an unrecognized and controversial diagnosis characterized by chronic symptoms attributed to exposure to low levels of commonly used chemicals. The symptoms are usually vague and nonspecific, and can include fatigue, headache, nausea and dizziness. Although these symptoms can be debilitating, MCS is not recognized as an organic, chemically caused illness by the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association or many other professional medical organizations. Blinded clinical research shows that people with MCS react to placebo as often and as strongly as they do to chemical stimuli; the presence and severity of symptoms are associated with the perception that a chemical stimulus is present. Commonly blamed substances include scented products (e.g. perfumes), pesticides, plastics, synthetic fabrics, smoke, petroleum products and paint fumes.
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In a scene at Wrenwood, the bulletin board next to the volunteer sign-in form on which Carol and Chris write their names holds a collection of photographs of community members. These photographs belong to members of the film crew, including director Todd Haynes, whose name appears as Todd in his photo.
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Production Story (20)
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Many interiors, such as Carol's house, were shot in the homes of director Todd Haynes's family and relatives. The exterior of the St. Tropez restaurant was filmed using the house of Haynes's parents; the street in the film's opening is also the street where that house stands. The director's mother's car can even be seen in that scene.
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Multiple chemical sensitivity is a controversial condition not recognized by medical authorities, defined by chronic symptoms caused by exposure to low-level chemicals. It manifests through vague complaints such as fatigue, headache and dizziness; clinical studies have shown that individuals react to placebos as much as they do to chemicals.
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Behind the Scenes (18)
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Many interiors such as Carol's house were filmed in Todd Haynes' family and relatives' houses. The exterior of the St. Tropez restaurant (the next scene after the dinner where Carol doesn't laugh at the vibrator joke) was shot, remarkably, using the exterior of Haynes' parents' house. The street that opens the film is also the street where their house is located, and his mother's car can be seen in the shot.
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Many interiors, such as Carol's house, were shot in the homes of director Todd Haynes's family and relatives. The exterior of the St. Tropez restaurant was filmed using Haynes's parents' house; the street in the film's opening is the same street where that house stands. The director's mother's car can even be seen in that scene.
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Characters & Cast (11)
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Multiple chemical sensitivity is a controversial condition not recognized by medical authorities, defined by chronic symptoms caused by exposure to low-level chemicals. It manifests through vague complaints such as fatigue, headaches and dizziness; clinical studies have shown that people react to placebos as much as they do to chemicals.
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Easter Eggs & References (4)
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In the scene where Carol recalls her childhood bedroom, the mention of "yellow wallpaper" is likely a reference to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," about a woman diagnosed with "temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency" and is sequestered in a room where something happens to her sanity, but we don't have to get into that here.
Deeper Meaning (2)
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Multiple chemical sensitivity is an unrecognized and controversial diagnosis characterized by chronic symptoms attributed to exposure to low levels of commonly used chemicals. Symptoms are typically vague and non-specific. They may include fatigue, headaches, nausea, and dizziness. Although these symptoms can be debilitating, MCS is not recognized as an organic, chemical-caused illness by the World Health Organization, American Medical Association, nor any of several other professional medical organizations. Blinded clinical trials show that people with MCS react as often and as strongly to placebos as they do to chemical stimuli; the existence and severity of symptoms is seemingly related to perception that a chemical stimulus is present. Commonly attributed substances include scented products (e.g. perfumes), pesticides, plastics, synthetic fabrics, smoke, petroleum products, and paint fumes.
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Career & Awards (7)
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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