Safe Spaces

An even-tempered indie comedy, five parts late Woody Allen to one part 90s-period David Mamet.

We've seen many versions of this kind of story before, but there's something so spot-on and involving about the film, written and directed by Daniel Schechter... that it proves surprisingly refreshing.

Time and again during "After Class," Schechter makes pinpoint-accurate choices that are even more impressive when, after it's done, you replay the movie in your mind, and you realize what an exceptional piece of work it is.

As in Schechter's previous movies, an unusually strong cast is key to making this touchy material work, with supporting players Lynn Cohen and Richard Schiff especially crucial.

Framed within the touching, often humorous, story of a family rallying around their dying grandmother, the movie leaves us contemplating the fundamental value of empathy.

Gentle, but thought-provoking drama about a young professor taking a wrong step in class, and about his family trying to step around the decline of their beloved grandmother.

In this big-hearted, infinitely human comedy, no place is really safe: The soul is pre-programmed for being hurt - and for hurting others, whether it wants to or not.

If you like the type of Woody Allen-inspired movies that are filled with neurotic, privileged New Yorkers who create their own problems ... then [this] is the movie for you.

Safe Spaces reminds us that the pursuit of social "safety nets" can be an entertaining if volatile ride for characters with a propensity for wagging fingers at family members and imperfect strangers alike.

Without indulging in millennial hand-wringing, [Daniel] Schechter knowingly addresses how ideas can make us feel unsafe, rippling out to trigger insecurities in the most unexpected places.