''Safe House'' is a 1998 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Eric Steven Stahl Eric Steven Stahl (born April 4, 1959) is an American director, screenwriter, producer and editor who is known for making the world's first all-digital sound 70mm film called Digital Dream. Stahl's feature credits also include ''Final Approach ( ...

and starring

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

, Kimberly Williams, and

Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series '' Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021 ...

. It premiered in the United Kingdom in late 1998 on Channel 5 and in the United States on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on January 24, 1999.

Plot

Mace Sowell is a retired DIA agent who believes his life is in danger from his former boss, Admiral Thomas Michelmore, who is now running for President of the United States. Mace has information about the underhand dealings of his erstwhile boss at the DIA which would ruin his Presidential campaign if it ever was released into the public domain. The information is located in cyberspace and is scheduled to be sent to every major newspaper in the western world unless Mace reprograms the mail server remotely from his computer every 24 hours using a special password only he knows. To complicate the issue, Mace is in the early stages of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and has difficulty in convincing people his information is not

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

as a result of his condition. He only leaves his home in disguise and visits his

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

Dr. Simon under duress from his daughter Michelle, who threatens to have his mental competency evaluated. Because Mace never discussed his career in the DIA with his family and also because paranoia is a common symptom of Alzheimer's disease, Mace is unable to convince Simon or Michelle of the truth of the threat he faces. Simon suggests to Michelle that she either hire an in-home

caregiver A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

for Mace or have him committed if his behavior becomes too much to handle. Following a difficult search, Michelle hires Andi Travers, whom Mace is immediately hostile toward. Their relationship is fraught at first as she tries to convert Mace to a

macrobiotic A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is an unconventional restrictive diet based on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet tries to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobio ...

diet, and Andi in turn is angered by Mace's invasion of her privacy as part of his background check, which arouses no suspicion. Mace has few friends apart from Stu, a man who cleans his pool and does other odd jobs for him. Stu tells Andi that he has known Mace since before the onset of his mental degeneration. Amongst the jobs Stu carries out for Mace are drills — training exercises whereby Stu dresses up in quasi-military gear and balaclavas and simulates breaking into Mace's house and attacking him. Stu does this more out of friendship and lack of anything better to do than because he believes Mace's claims about being under threat. During one such drill, Andi mistakes Stu for a genuine

burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving trespass to land, the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal ...

and severely injures him with a golf club. Andi earns Mace's gratitude by covering the incident from Michelle during a phone call. Although Mace and Andi begin to get along, Mace strains Michelle's patience when he stages a car bomb removal in her van, and she disallows further drills. After Mace accuses Andi and Stu of conspiring against him in abiding by this request, they attempt to cheer Mace up with a final drill, but his subpar performance seems to prove that he is no longer able to fend for himself. Mace allows himself to be more dependent on Andi, but does not let go of the notion that Michelmore is making an attempt on his life, which results in him shooting at a neighbor's incoming car. This incident convinces Michelle to remove all weapons from Mace's home and to file a competency hearing. Faced with commitment, Mace reveals to Andi his information on Michelmore and the secret of his dead man's switch, and bribes her into aiding in his escape from the country. That night, Mace finds Andi attempting to abort the dead man's switch, and trails her to her home the next morning. Sneaking inside, Mace discovers that Andi is an agent of Michelmore. Back at his own home, Mace expresses admiration to Andi for being able to fool even him. As Andi shoots and kills a passing Stu, Mace pulls a hidden gun from beneath the kitchen sink and shoots her, but is wounded himself in the process. In his last act of clarity, Mace sets off the dead man's switch and calls to report Andi's dead body, but finds that he is unable to remember his own name.

Cast

as Mace Sowell * Kimberly Williams as Andi Travers *

as Dr. Simon *Joy Kilpatrick as Michelle Sowell-Ross * Craig Shoemaker as Stuart Bittenbinder *James Harlow as Marc Ross *Richard Livingston as Admiral Thomas Michelmore *Julia Vera as Teresa *Brenda Klemme as Asthma Girl Interviewee *Robert Lee Barry as Rocket Scientist Interviewee *Scott Zacky as Wise Guy Interviewee *Wayne Demaline as Butch the Redneck Interviewee *

Hank Garrett Hank Garrett (born Henry Greenberg Cohen Sandler Weinblatt; October 26, 1931) is an American actor, comedian, author, speaker, teacher, mixed martial artist and retired professional wrestler best known for the television role of Officer Nicholso ...

as Hitman/Postman

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Safe House (Film) 1998 independent films 1990s spy thriller films American independent films American spy thriller films American films about Alzheimer's disease Films scored by Kevin Kiner Showtime (TV network) films 1998 films Films directed by Eric Steven Stahl 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language independent films English-language spy thriller films ru:Бастион (фильм)