Safe, with Book Signing by Author Michael Schulman

Introduced by Michael Schulman, author of Oscar Wars, with a book signing following the screening 

Dir. Todd Haynes. 1995, 119 mins. 35mm. With Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, Peter Friedman, Beth Grant, April Grace, James Le Gros, Dean Norris. After several years of roles in smaller films and TV work, Moore emerged as a major talent, but she did so with barely a whisper. As Carol White, a housewife who believes she has become allergic to the chemical toxins in her environment and eventually escapes to a sinister self-help retreat, Moore holds the screen with compelling unassertiveness. Haynes, coming off his Sundance controversy with the brilliant New Queer breakthrough Poison, brought a visionary, Antonioni-esque compositional elegance to this psychological horror story, which touches upon a host of contemporary societal plagues without ever leaving fragile Carol’s side. Safe would ultimately be named the best film of the decade in a Village Voice critics poll, but the film was too far afield of the Academy’s radar, despite vocal supporters rallying behind Moore’s heartbreaking work. 

Michael Schulman’s Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears (2023, HarperCollins) offers a lively history of the Academy Awards, chronicling the brutal battles, the starry rivalries, and the colorful behind-the-scenes drama. Copies will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop, with a book signing following the screening. MoMI members receive a 15% discount. 

Schulman is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he has contributed since 2006. His profile subjects have included the comedian Bo Burnham, the talk-show host Wendy Williams, and the actors Adam Driver, Elisabeth Moss, and Jeremy Strong. He has written more than a hundred “Talk of the Town” columns and contributed long-form interviews with such subjects as Linda Ronstadt, Robert De Niro, Fran Lebowitz, Anthony Hopkins, and Mel Brooks. He is the author of Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, a New York Times best-seller about the actress’s artistic coming-of-age in the 1970s. 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.