Safe (1993 Film Review)

1993 BBC
Directed by: Antonia Bird; Written by: Al Ashton
Starring: Aidan Gillen, Katie Hardie, and Robert Carlyle
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 66 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 9/10

Friends, Gypo and Kaz, live on the streets, grifting to make it through the day, trying to find somewhere to sleep when the sun sets. The city offers a nightly shelter for homeless youth, with the only requirement seeming to be civil behavior, but the self-destructive Gypo just can't hack it. For some reason, he only wants to bite the hand that feeds, even when the shelter manager has provided him with a free apartment. Kaz, however, would prefer to spend the night away from the streets, where she regularly has to deal with the threat of sexual assault. As loyal as she is to Gypo, all she really wants is to be some place safe.
First time feature-length film director, Antonia Bird, announces her presence here as a force to be reckoned with 1993's Safe. Bird has managed to effortlessly meld a picture of rebellious youth with one of great empathy for the homeless, as well as a bit of melodrama. Gypo and Kaz's interactions with the world are loud and abrasive, and yet, when the world bites back, you can't help but feel for them, in particular, Katie Hardie's Kaz, who is somehow even less safe when she tries to go home to her mother and stepfather. Meanwhile, Aidan Gillen gives a breakout performance as Gypo, the human embodiment of the titular amphibian from the old Scorpion and the Frog fable. He's incredibly believable as a young man who just can't help but destroy any effort made to help him.
Meanwhile, the young Hardie gives a multi-tiered performance, introducing herself harshly, then slowly peeling back layer after layer of increasing vulnerability. Robert Carlyle also appears as Nosty, a dangerous, psychotic street kingpin who is even more self-destructive than Gypo. Carlyle would go on to become Bird's MVP, starring in four of her five films. His role here should garner no sympathy from the viewer, yet under Bird and Carlyle's care, the fear in this hooligan's eyes brought on by his own actions starts to become apparent.
Overall, Bird's debut, created for the BBC's Screenplay series, brings her best qualities to the forefront: an ability to combine seemingly disparate tones to make a cohesive whole, to inspire spectacular performances from her actors, and to conjure waves of moving emotion. Safe is the work of a rare talent.