blanche-2 "Safe House" from 1998 stars Patrick Stewart, Kimberly Williams, and Hector Elizondo.Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a former operative for the DIA (not CIA as he's quick to point out) - the Defense Intelligence Agency. Now retired, he lives as if he is about to be killed any second. In his bed is a dummy version of him, while he sleeps in another area; he has a room full of computer monitors which track what's happening on his property, monitors conversations, and he seems to always be signing into something top secret. When he goes out in the car with his daughter Michelle (Joy Kilpatrick), he is heavily disguised and lying on the floor in the back seat. His doctor (Elizondo) prescribes medication for him that he won't take. He periodically schedules "drills" which includes such things as attacks on his home where a masked man (actually his friend Marc) uses his maid as a human shield.It's clear to Michelle that her father needs round the clock care, as he's in the early stages of Alzheimer's. In order to allow him to stay at home, she hires a social worker, Andi Travers (Williams) to stay with him. Over time, the two form a bond. He tells her that he has enough evidence against his old boss at the DIA, Thomas Michelmore, who is running for President, to ruin his career. Michelmore has already had several people eliminated who knew too much, and Mace believes he is next.Mace has this evidence on a server that will email it to every news outlet in the world unless it's reset with a new password every 24 hours. So the question becomes - okay, he probably is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, but is he just paranoid or is someone really out to get him? Is any of this true? It's clear his daughter, her husband, and Mace's doctor don't believe him. Will Andi?Really fantastic film that keeps you absorbed and involved until the very end with lots of surprise action and humor, all leading up to a fantastic finale. Patrick Stewart is wonderful as a man who realizes he's going over the edge and fights every second to stave off dementia. Kimberly Williams as his patient and level-headed caretaker does an excellent job throughout, as does James Harlow (Marc) who is constantly coming up with new impressions of actors, everyone from Jim Nabors to Jimmy Stewart.Highly recommended.

midge56 This is an excellent spellbinding spy thriller superbly portrayed by Patrick Stewart. This thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. While it was a Showtime film it is not low budget or low quality. The entire production, cast, script & film quality are all first Class. Beware, there is another film by the same name, without Patrick Stewart and a different script entirely. So check carefully to ensure you have the right film.The unique story of a retired DIA agent (defense intelligence Agency) suffering from early advanced Alzheimers with extreme paranoia of being the target of gov't assassination attempts to silence him from exposing the dirty laundry of a Presidential candidate. Stewart goes through extreme measures to protect himself & remain physically fit & ready as he realizes his mind is rapidly deteriorating. Stewart is the epitome of class, fitness & superb academy award level acting in this action thriller. Stewart underwent extensive preparation of exercise, bodybuilding, martial arts, self defense, dancing, guitar, gourmet cooking & strenuous training prior to this role to be in peak physical condition & skill for this talented character role.The audience is led to believe his daughters perception that his extreme paranoid behavior is due to his Alzheimers. She is unaware of his DIA career & believes her father's assertions as an intelligence agent are fantasies as are his fears of assassination.He becomes the last surviving member of his former DIA team who knows the truth about their former boss who could blow the whistle on his political aspirations. His only protection is a deadmans switch on the internet which he has to deactivate every day to prevent automatic dissemination of documents & photos proving the Presidential Candidate was involved in high level assassinations.His daughter unwittingly hires a "too good to be true" compelling freelance contract agent as her fathers caretaker who quickly wins her fathers trust & that of the audience. That trust soon turns to unexpected consequences.Stewart is at the top of his game on this film. Excellent Acting & performances by the entire cast. Fantastic script, action & top of the line spyware.I cannot overstate how great this film is from start to finish. Unless you are some immature neophyte or political hard nose you will definitely enjoy this movie.This is a quality film which nearly everyone should enjoy. I highly recommend it.

George Parker "Safe House" shows us a public service retiree (Stewart) with early Alzheimers secluded in a suburban home with a fantastic maze of electronic surveillance equipment, an armory, and a beautiful young caregiver (Williams) to protect him from what he believes to be a plot to get him and what his grown kids believe is simple disease-related paranoia. What could have been a good thriller/suspense/psychodrama is unfortunately brought to the small screen as a comedy cum drama cum farce cum whatever. Although the flick has its moments, they're few and far between and a good premise sinks under the awkward one-man-band execution.

sddavis63 Every time I see Patrick Stewart I become more and more impressed by this actor's versatility. From Shakespeare to SciFi, from drama to suspense to historical epic, Stewart does it all, and does it very well. With "Safe House," Stewart demonstrates a wide range of talent, including - what I enjoyed most - a flair for subtle comedy, unexpected in a movie billed as a suspense flick.I have to admit first off that if you're looking for a hair-raising, edge of your seat thriller, look elsewhere. I spent a lot more of my time sitting back chuckling than I did on the edge of my seat - and I mean that positively. This was a very funny movie in many ways, laced with some tense moments. Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a man suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease, who tries to convince his daughter Michelle (played by Joy Kilpatrick) that the life she thought he had lived had been a lie, and that he had really been a military intelligence officer whose life was now in danger because of the things he knew. She, of course, assumes that her father is delusional because of the Alzheimer's, and hires a caregiver (Andi Travers, played by Kimberley Williams in a pretty decent performance) who Sowell distrusts from the start, but finally begins to warm up to. There's the outline of a pretty suspenseful movie there, except for one basic fault: I had this thing figured out within about 10-15 minutes of the opening! It's very predictable. However, I must confess that the decision to have Sowell suffering from Alzheimer's throws a wild card into this, and there were a few times when, with the twists and turns that happen, and with Sowell's obvious confusion, I began to doubt what I had assumed would happen. So it definitely managed to hold my interest. Stewart, in addition to some wonderfully funny scenes, also showed his dramatic flair as he portrays Sowell struggling with his emotions as he confronts the disease beginning to ravage his mind.Most of the other performances in the movie are solid but unspectacular. I frankly found the character of Stuart (played by Craig Shoemaker) to be nothing less than irritating. Why he had to play almost every scene at least partly impersonating a famous actor was beyond me, and I really just wanted him to go away after a while. Hector Elizondo as Dr. Simon, Sowell's psychiatrist, was underused and offered little.Basically, though, this is a pretty good movie. I'd rate it as a 7/10.