"Safety" Review: A Safe Telling of A True Story Worth Celebrating
“Safety” is the true story of Ray “Ray Ray” McElrathbey (Jay Reeves), who played safety for the Clemson Tigers from 2005 to 2007. During that time, his mother (Amanda Warren) went into a rehabilitation program to deal with her addiction, forcing Ray to take care of his younger brother, Fahmarr (Thaddeus J. Mixson) by housing him on campus. The film could trim about thirty minutes of fat and fumbles in the screenwriting with some Disney emotional cues, but when it focuses on the heart of the issue it’s in the zone.
The film introduces us to Ray just as he’s starting to play, on scholarship, for Tommy Bowden at Clemson. Almost as quickly as he adjusts to the rigorous schedule of college football, he has to adjust to the fact that his brother is at home without positive supervision with his mother in rehab. (In the film, there is an adult in the apartment with Fahmarr, but he seems to be into street life.) Ray quickly takes Fahmarr back to his dorm and pulls his roommate, Daniel (Hunter Sansone), into the scheme.
The first hour is set up for comical buddy/caper comedy moments with Ray trying to hide his brother under laundry and getting him to and from school without his friendly resident advisor catching them. He also meets Kaycee (Corinne Foxx) and spends time trying to court her while balancing his new responsibilities. The film doesn’t really find its groove until an hour into its run time.
At times, “Safety” feels like one of the best student films you’ll see about football this year! The acting, camera work, and silly jingles playing underneath certain scenes feel forced and uninspired. It does have a measure of weight and depth when the story digs into the true life conflict of Ray trying to balance school, his brother and mother’s welfare. It’s a difficult situation to be in. The crux of the story is about a mother who chooses herself in getting clean and the weight that puts on Ray, a brother turned father, who has a scholarship and his own future on the line. The conflict of Ray being torn between his own dreams and desires for himself but being willing to sacrifice everything to make sure his younger brother is taken care of is the reason that the story was known in every household around America at the time.
I’ll be the first to admit I have a few biases. First, I went to the University of South Carolina, so it’s kind of in my blood to hate Clemson. Second, I graduated in 2005, so it’s really hard for me to believe that a line like “Whatchu know about Lauryn Hill?” would come out of Kaycee’s mouth. Lauryn Hill was still the GOAT at that time. The soundtrack is extremely accurate though- like if buying soundtracks was still a thing and you were in college during that time, it would take you back! Biases aside, there is a constant fight between stale performances (Foxx) and authentic performances (Reeves) and rehashed storylines and a heartwarming story.
“Safety” feels like a three hour movie because it spends the first hour meandering and crawling to its fifty yard line. The second hour is where the film gets into the end zone. What Ray McElrathbey did is noteworthy, but this film is just a passable representation of it.
Rating: C-
