Safelight (2015)

Juno Temple and Even Peters in "Safelight."

Much of “Safelight” takes place somewhere in the remote corners of Southern California’s desolate Mojave Desert, where a lonely 17-year-old named Charles (Evan Peters, his messy, curly hair making him reminiscent of Jessie Eisenberg) limps to school during the day and helps run a dusty truck stop at night. Born slightly crippled, he walks by dragging one foot, a shortcoming that leaves him painfully self-conscious as well as a target for random—and manipulative—ambushes by sadistic bullies.

Charles’ only apparent happiness comes with his passion for photography (the title is a reference to lighthouses, his favorite subject), but that changes when he meets Vicki (Juno Temple), the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold occupying one of the dingy motel rooms next door. Vicki surprises Charles by looking beyond his physical appearance and treating him with compassion and sensitivity, two things sorely lacking in her current arrangement with a drunken, sleazy pimp (Kevin Alejandro) who abuses her.

The wholly inauspicious debut of writer-director Tony Aloupis, “Safelight” is extensively clichéd and mind-numbingly predictable. At the middling center, Vicki and Charles’ tentative friendship grows—she drives him to lighthouses to take pictures—but too often along the fringes, a well-worn series of familiar subplots dominate.

Charles’ single father (raspy-voiced Jason Beghe), weak and suffering from an unknown ailment, dies; middle-aged Peg (Christine Lahti), a divorcee and Charles’ boss at the truck stop, steps in to provide motherly comfort and encouragement; Vicki, desperate to reconnect with family, has an uncomfortable reunion with her two younger sisters; and the ugly, misogynistic pimp, who has no friends, increasingly seethes with jealousy and rage, setting the table for an inevitably violent showdown.

“Safelight” is one of those movies meant to be watched after the late, late show. The one-dimensional characters and predictable story make it easy to follow even if the viewer, lulled by the sleepy setting and languid pace, repeatedly dozes off on the couch. Although, falling asleep altogether would be the much more logical outcome.