Safe Space is the feature-length debut of writer-director Stefan Kubicki. Stefan (David Henry Gerson) and his significant other, Monika (Marta Ojrzynska), are at a crossroads. She’s turning 40 soon and wants a child, but he keeps wavering on the prospect. To get away and clear their heads, the couple meets up with Harry (Travis Myers) and his lady Tabitha (Annie Monroe) at the home of Shayar (Nardeep Khurmi). The guys all met at grad school for filmmaking and make it a point to hang out annually. Arriving late to the party is Josema (Josema Roig), who brings an unexpected but very welcome guest, Lindsay (Annie Hamilton).
After some catching up, booze, and a good amount of recreational drug use, the real fun is set to begin. The seven friends venture to the middle of nowhere to experience an escape room like no other. Popov (Konstantin Lavysh) is a renowned Ukrainian performance artist and created this escape to bring the participants closer together by the end. But as all these couples are on the brink of collapse and Shayar cannot let go of the past, things don’t go according to plan. It does not help matters that everyone is separated from their respective better halves and needs to confront their personal demons to escape. But that is easier said than done, especially when dealing with creatives who are running on empty.
Marta Ojrzyńska as Monika in Safe Space. Dir. Stefan Kubicki. Image courtesy of CYNIUM
“…seven friends venture to the middle of nowhere to experience an escape room like no other.”
Safe Space never takes the thriller route, despite a few moments that seem to suggest it could. No, Kubicki is more interested in how the stressful situations each person finds themselves in affect them and their relations than scaring viewers. In that regard, the film sticks the landing, as the ending wraps things up, but not with a bow on everything. There is a messiness at the end that speaks to real life and the wild mental gymnastics and exhaustion it takes to create something out of nothing.
Gerson comes off as dull at first, but there’s a reason for that. By the time the credits roll, he goes from empathic to pathetic and everything in between. Ojrzynska is heartbreaking and is the person who guides the audience through this 93-minute emotional whirlwind. Hamilton has a tricky role but really makes it her own. Khurmi is charismatic and fun, though Myers gets a bit lost in the shuffle. Monroe plays the scene where a big secret is revealed with the right amount of regret and anger. Lavysh steals the picture in his few scenes, bringing a strange energy that makes “integration” intriguing.
Safe Space is a little slow to start, with all the drug-taking feeling repetitive. However, once the escape room comes into play and the characters’ personal lives unravel, riveting drama emerges. The cast is mostly quite good, and the last 10 or 15 minutes are nearly perfect.
"…the last 10 or 15 minutes are nearly perfect."
