Far From Heaven

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Far From Heaven

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Far From Heaven

Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis

Maverick director Todd Haynes embraces the look and feel of classic Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s in this period drama. Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) and her husband, Frank (Dennis Quaid), are a... read more read more... seemingly perfect couple; living in a handsome suburban neighborhood in Hartford, CT, in 1957, Cathy and Frank have a beautiful home and two happy, healthy children, while Frank pursues a successful career in sales and Cathy cares for the home. But Cathy has begun to sense something isn't quite right in her marriage, as Frank begins working late, spending less time with her, and seems cold and distant. One day, Cathy visits Frank's work and discovers something she never expected -- her husband is kissing a man. At Cathy's urging, Frank undergoes psychotherapy, but as she tries to keep up a brave face, the emotional trauma takes a great toll on her, and she finds there are very few people she can talk with. Cathy strikes up a friendship with Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert), an African-American gardener who works for the Whitakers, and as she discovers how intelligent and compassionate Raymond is, she finds herself drawn to him. However, Hartford is in many ways still a small town, and when Mona (Celia Weston) sees Cathy and Raymond alone together, it sets off a wave of vicious gossip that threatens to make the Whitakers' many secrets public knowledge. Far from Heaven premiered at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, where Julianne Moore's performance won the prize for Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Id: 10896060

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Far From Heaven Recent Reviews
  • fb223580
    September 14, 2012
    fb223580
    I can't help but think that Mad Men took some of its inspiration from this piece. Interracial romances and homosexuality were so much more salacious when they were taboo...
  • cosmo313
    July 30, 2012
    cosmo313
    Todd Haynes is known for his subversion of styles and formats with his work, and with this film, he takes aim at the look and feel of classic 1950s Hollywood melodramas, particularly of the Douglas Sirk variety.

    This is the story of a seemingly idealic lead by housewife Cathy Wh... read moreitaker and her corporate ladder climbing husband Frank. Their lives seem perfect, and to their friends in neighbors in Hartford, they are truly the stand up citizens of the community.

    However, this is far from the case beneath the surface of things, and the majority of the film is dedicated to focusing on the effect of when the imperfections of their lives start to break through the surface, and, in line with Haynes's trademarks, the major issues that are focused on here include alienation/isolation, and homosexuality. And, since the film is set in the 1950s, race and class are focused on, too.

    The specific story might not be the strongest aspect of things, but it's still really solid, compelling, and well done. The film does lose some steam in the third act, and overall it is rather inconsistent tonally, but that's pretty muchc my only complaints. The technical side of things is absolutely brilliant. Not only does this film capture the era of the 50s with the look, feel, styles, period details, and attitudes, but it reflects the films of that era as well. This is an absolutely gorgeous looking picture, with some of the most expressive cinematography I've seen in a while, with much of the lighting and colors reminding me of Kubrick. Elmer Bernstein provided the music, and it was one of his final scores, if not the complete last. It's maybe a bit overwrought and a tad too melodramatic at times, but nonetheless gorgeous and fitting.

    This film also swings for the fences where the performances are concerned. Quaid's not in it that much, but he makes the most of his screen time, and gives one of the best performances of his career. Moore really owns the screen here, and this is some of her most beautifuly nuanced work. It's memorable, though not as idiosyncratically so as her most unforgettable roles. Haysbert takes what could have been a one note role and breathes life, depth, and subtelty into it, and it is also one of his standout turns.

    All in all, this is a successful film. It accomplished its mission wonderfully, and even got to add some edge to it given that it came out in a less restrictive era than the one its emulating and portraying. I've mentioned it's flaws, but even with them the film is a nice piece of work that's thoughtful, enjoyable, and worth discussing.
  • EightThirty
    July 26, 2012
    EightThirty
    21/08/2010 (TELEVISION)

    I had nothing better to do and happened to catch this on TV. Good thing I did, I really got soaked into it and began to be concerned while the story continued to unleash the darkness.

    It's around the 1950's, so the whole interracial thing is a "BIG NO N... read moreO" along with homosexuality. A story that tells us how it was and how it usually ended which in reality is not always good sadly.

    The world was so black and white at one stage and full of prejudice and "false righteousness". Though truthful and sad it's a decent enough flick for having a glimpse of the world before now.
  • hunterjt13
    May 8, 2012
    hunterjt13
    Fifties era social prejudices are exposed when a husband reveals his homosexuality while his wife falls for their African American gardener.
    Juxtaposing prejudices race and sexuality could produce a winning social critique, but by the end of this film, I don't know what the film ... read moreis really saying. After all, the abuses faced by the two "others" in this film don't lead to a one-to-one comparison. In fact, turning the homosexual into the perpetrator of racial prejudice muddles the film's message.
    I hate Julianne Moore; this film is no different, and Dennis Haysbert plays Deegan just like his Allstate commercials. And the music is overwrought, always instructing us how to feel about the film's events. Finally, the cliched fifties housewife doesn't ascend beyond her cliche strictures despite the extraordinary nature of the film's events.
    Overall, Far from Heaven is an interesting idea for a film, but there's too much in the way of poor execution.
  • emilkakko
    April 10, 2012
    emilkakko
    Elegant and quietly devastating film about love that was not accepted at 50s America. Julianne Moore does wonderful acting job and same goes for Dennis Haysbert too. Todd Haynes has made a truly heartbreaking film with this one.
  • smith44
    February 5, 2010
    smith44
    Far From Heaven is a beautiful and fascinating story of Julian Morre as a 50s 'perfect world' suburban housewife watching her marriage fall apart and falling in love with her gardener. This film captures the mood and style of the 50's era, conservative, charming, niaive and deepl... read morey divided. A film that will remain a classic.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    October 14, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "What imprisons desires of the heart?"

    In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife faces a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in the outside world.

    REVIEW

    Filmmaker Todd Haynes' valentine to 195... read more0s melodramatic maestro auteur Douglas Sirk outdoes himself in grand style in the depiction of a Connecticut family's sudden downward spiral circa 1957 focusing on Cathy Whitaker (Moore in a sterling performance of Oscar caliber), a happy homemaker doting on her family and tv sales exec husband Frank (Quaid at his career best) who are both living lives of lies that threaten to destroy their seemingly blissful carefree existence in their all-too-knowing community. Haysbert as the local greens keeper hired by Cathy is also compellingly excellent in a sublime form of acting as the seemingly lone black man in a town of intolerance prickling beneath its calm demeanor. The exquisitely rich cinematography and production design by Edward Lachman and Mark Friedberg, respectively, convey the bristling darkness at the corners of paradise via suburbia with its rich autumnal palette suggesting a metaphor for the film as a whole: color changes everything. Kudos to elder statesman musical composer Elmer Bernstein's heartbreakingly poignant score underscoring the nightmare at hand. One of 2002's best films.
  • fb619846742
    April 27, 2009
    fb619846742
    A very heartfelt, original look on some very controversial issues that seem completely out of place for the simplistic culture of the 1950's. This film surprised me, it tackles a lot of topics, and it features many twists that I didn't see coming. Not only does this period-piece ... read morestay true to its setting, but it's able to detail its rough subjects with relative ease. Moore is a revelation, her and Quaid look like they were born for these roles. Dennis Haysbert gives an extremely strong, understated performance that nearly steals the show (he has a habit for doing this, see "24"). This is a romance film that will keep you interested til the end, until it rips your heart out in its final scene.
  • mwilliams078
    January 26, 2008
    mwilliams078
    Very good movie that is worth watching. Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid shine in this dramatic story of a seemingly perfect family in 1950's CT. Even a "picture perfect" family is open to all the same issues that everyonr faces and more.
  • ceWEBrity
    September 17, 2007
    ceWEBrity
    It's a shame that Far From Heaven's third act lags as much as it does, because its first hour is downright stunning. It grabs your attention with some lavish, lovingly-constructed set design and camera work - Todd Haynes is a true master of image on film. The beauty is inorganic,... read more but never fake; it almost reminded me of Suspiria, strangely enough, with the bleeding colors and dark sets. Once the movie has sway over you visually, it reels you in for the catch with fantastic dialogue, great scene work and a handful of really strong performances.

    Julianne Moore is perfect all the way through. Her performance is metered and informative, but considering that she's acting in a melodrama homage, she never really breaks character. Almost right off the bat, you get a read on Cathy - she is outwardly conventional, but full of surprises. A woman who is almost, but not quite, ready to enact change in the world around her.

    Far From Heaven makes a lot of interesting statements, but for the movie to truly have been great, it needed to finish them as well. A previous Todd Haynes film, Safe, had a very similar ending. Though we get a good idea of where the main character is going to end up, her true fate is left up to speculation. This is a very different movie from Safe, however; it is much more expository, and that approach simply doesn't work as well here. It's not that I'm anti-ambiguity, but it really would have behooved the movie to wrap things up a little more.

    Had Todd Haynes infused a few more ideas into the twilight hours of Far From Heaven, it would have been a much stronger film. As it is, though, it is still worth watching: a vivid and often brilliant homage to both 50s melodrama and the woe-begotten values of the past.
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