The Cast of Safe Spaces Reveals How the Movie Changed Their Real-Life Family Dynamics
Justin Long as Josh Cohn, Kate Berlant as Jackie Cohn, Fran Drescher as Diane Cohn, Emily Schechter as Evie Cohn, and Schann Mobley as Pam Cohn in the movie Safe Spaces
Every family has its own unique way of dealing with an illness, yet as we see in the movie Safe Spaces there is a great deal of common ground among us.
The tight-knit yet dysfunctional Cohn family rallies around the elderly grandmother (Lynn Cohen) when she is hospitalized. Her daughter Diane (Fran Drescher), grandson Josh (Justin Long) and estranged former son-in-law (Richard Schiff) grapple with pain, loss and grief while trying to make sense of their own lives.
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With an all-star cast, Safe Spaces feels so authentic because it evokes concerns for each of the actors’ own family members, and we see glimpses of our families reflected in their intense difficulties and tremendous love for one another.
After the world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, writer-director Daniel Schechter (Life of Crime and Supporting Characters), said that the movie—that he shot in less than three weeks—captures “the vibe” of his own family. “We are a pretty functional, yet dysfunctional family,” he explained. The actors also physically looked like a family, which added to the credibility of the story.
“The movie is about this family surrounding this woman and really being there for her at the end,” he said. “We faced a similar situation and as sad as that week was, we laughed a lot, she wasn’t in too much pain, and she went really peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. I would take that if I could sign up for it today.”
Justin Long as Josh Cohn in the movie Safe Spaces, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival
Personalized Roles
Long, best known for his film roles in Galaxy Quest,Dodgeball and Live Free Or Die Hard, personalized the role of the grandson. “I directly transferred it into what I imagine my own grandmother’s death would be like,” he revealed.
The 40-year-old, who is extremely close to his 102-year-old grandmother, says there are often dramatic moments when they part. “Each time I left I always thought, 'That may be it,' and the older she’s gotten she has turned a corner where she jokes about it, and that’s her way of dealing with it. It’s kind of nice that she’s come to terms with it.”
Safe Spaces has a great deal of heart—it makes us laugh and moves us to tears. It also prompted the actors to look at their own lives and families.
The Nanny and Happily Divorced star Fran Drescher revealed that the movie clearly made her think of her parents, Morty and Sylvia Drescher, who live in South Florida.
“I find myself at a passage in life where I’m really concerned about what life is going to be like without my parents. I’m one of the few people in my life who is lucky enough to still have both of their parents living and they are still madly in love with each other,” she said. “I’m just so grateful that FaceTime was invented while they were alive because I get to see them every day.”
For Drescher, portraying the daughter of a critically ill woman, “made me put all of my own personal fears and concerns into it. Especially, in my speech where I say, 'I don’t know what life is going to be like without her.' That involved many authentic feelings that I am struggling with right now in my life."
New Attitudes
Schechter spent four years teaching at various colleges where he was exposed to a new generation’s attitudes toward sexuality, gender politics and race.
In addition to the family themes, Safe Spaces takes a hard look at how Long's character reacts in the face of feeling falsely accused by his bosses, and by his students while loving his teaching job. Coupled with his grandmother’s illness, we feel the grandson’s angst.
“I had to allow that to bother me, too, and I am glad that this is resonating with those who see the film,” Long explained. “I had to be bothered by the intentions and to play it honestly. I think that I often tend to hold onto moments of injustice, which are quite petty. But there’s still a sense of justice that I have and I sometimes cannot let go of, so that aspect of the movie was familiar territory for me.”
In the end, the actors say the messages of the movie are simple but important. “I think it’s about being more loving and understanding of your family, and your colleagues,” Drescher explained.
Long said that the movie conveys the importance of celebrating our families, regardless of the complications, and “having healthy conversations in which you are willing to admit that you are wrong and also having empathy and compassion whenever possible.”
