There's much to admire in Rose Troche's The Safety of Objects, an emotionally intense adaptation of A.M. Homes' book of short stories. This is a film that, like P.T. Anderson's Magnolia, energetically intertwines the inner landscapes of a large group of characters. But as powerful as much of this film is, and although I do highly recommend that you see it, it's a film that has bitten off a little more than it can chew.

The Safety of Objects takes place in a quiet American suburb and concerns itself with four neighboring families who share some deep, dark secrets—one, in particular, that underlies the entire story but about which we understand the full impact only in the closing scenes. At the heart of the story is Esther Gold (Glenn Close), who—we learn gradually—has been tending to her comatose son Paul (Joshua Jackson), vegetative and on life support since a deadly car accident months before. We also meet her unhappy daughter Julie (Jessica Campbell of Election), who's suffering from something that we won't really know until much later. Across the street, the Train family is undergoing a crisis as father Jim (Dermot Mulroney) has decided to take a break from his big-time lawyer job and instead root for Esther at a seemingly frivolous mall contest that turns out to be the catalyst for a lot of the film's emotional upheaval.

Wait, there's more. Another neighbor, Annette (Patricia Clarkson), is going through an increasingly horrible divorce with an absentee father. When their tomboy daughter Sam (Kristen Stewart of Panic Room) turns up missing, neither suspects the mysterious pool man (Timothy Olyphant of Go), who has a past shrouded in tragedy. It's when we get to still more subplots—particularly those involving yet another housewife (Mary Kay Place) and a small boy who carries on conversations with his sister's Barbie dolls—that the film begins to lose a little of the power of its primary thrusts. There's so much going on that the film can't help but dilute itself.

But The Safety of Objects is a definite sleeper, offering rich storytelling, strong acting, and a certain dark energy that is quite involving. I was caught up in the stories of these interconnected characters, and the more I caught glimpses of their tragic backstories, the more I cared for them. I just wish the film had been tightened up, or had at least focused a little harder on the essentials.

MGM presents The Safety of Objects in a striking anamorphic-widescreen transfer of the film's original 2.35:1 theatrical presentation. Detail is impeccable, and colors are deep and rich. I was impressed with nearly every aspect of this presentation, except for the fact that it contains mild edge halos throughout. They're not terribly distracting, but they prevent this effort from being truly great. Otherwise, this is a fine transfer.

The disc provides a Dolby Digital 2.0 track that does a fine job, considering the dialog-driven nature of the film. Voices are clear and clean. Stereo separation across the front is dynamic, and ambient noise is quite effective across the front and even sneaks into the rears.

Disappointingly, the DVD offers the film's Theatrical Trailer.

The Safety of Objects is a surprisingly affecting film that will leave you thinking. I highly recommend this movie, but because the DVD is devoid of meaningful supplements, I'll drop my overall rating to a "Recommended." Image and sound quality, however, are above average.