Far From Heaven
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Movie Reviews of Far From Heaven
Movie Review: One of the finest movies in recent years
Summary: 5 Stars
"Far from Heaven" provides a rare glimpse into some of the taboo issues that lay under the surface during the 50's. Unlike much of the muck that is produced by Hollywood these days, this movie presents some very adult themes while avoiding nudity, profanity, or violence. Julianne Moore's performance is certainly extraordinary, but one should not overlook the performances of Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Viola Davis, or Patricia Clarkson. Dennis Quaid's versatility as an actor in this movie comes through loud and clear. On one hand, this movie provides a look at life when the average wife was a homemaker and when there was a great sense of community as demonstrated by the gossip and the way people noticed others around them. It also provides a look at the racial boundaries that pervaded that period as well as the sexual taboos that were never really discussed--except in hushed tones. This movie is a reminder that the idyllic life of the 50's that so many yearn for was really an illusion. Many of the same problems that face us today, such as racism and homophobia, were also alive and well and just under the surface during that period of time.
As Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) was forced to confront her husband's latent homosexuality, I could not help but wonder how many similarly high-profile executives, like Frank Whitaker (Dennis Quaid), lived a sham life in order to advance in the world of business in the 50's. One thing that makes this movie particularly poignant is the lack of information about human sexuality that was generally available in the 50's and how little someone like Cathy Whitaker would have (or could have) known about something like homosexuality--particularly when the issue strikes at home!
Movie Review: a movie that plays with the 50's stereotype
Summary: 5 Stars
Far From Heaven is, without question, one of the best movies of 2002. It may not have made every top ten list or made enough at the box office, but this was a very memorable film. This is a beautiful movie. Set in the 1950's, it sets up an exaggerated reality where everything is too perfect and everyone is too close to the stereotype of the time period. Julianne Moore puts June Cleaver to shame as the perfect housewife and Dennis Quaid is her hardworking husband. The characters try to present an image of 50's perfection, but very quickly we see that things aren't quite right. Far From Heaven takes the stereotype of the 50's image and shakes it up by introducing racial prejudice and sexual prejudice. Moore's housewife becomes friends with a black man. She feels that he is one of the few people she can openly talk to, but this causes problems in the insular society she lives in. Though the civil rights movement does exist, the world of Far From Heaven is separated into white and black, and there should be no crossing over. The friendship of Moore and Dennis Haysbert is viewed as more than a friendship and also as a betrayal of white society (Haysbert has the same problem in the black community). The other big issue that Far From Heaven plays with is that of sexual prejudice. When Julianne Moore catches her husband with another man, Quaid's struggles with homosexuality come out into the open. Far From Heaven is a wonderfully acted movie and is perfectly put together. The exaggerated ideal of the characters only serves to underscore how powerful the emotions are when the racism and sexual prejudice comes into play. Far From Heaven is one of the best movies of the year, and at the very least is worth a rental.
Movie Review: Todd Haynes is a hopeful promise
Summary: 5 Stars
The story is simple but haunting. A middle marriage. Connecticut. Set in the fifties, Julianne Moore discovers the hidden secret sexual of his husband. The visual effects and the lights game are exquisite when she talks with him in the hall. The camera is not over them, but it gets far, in a obvious signal of discrete sense of intimity.
Haynes has surprised me in a positive way. The handle of the camera is elegant, fluid and never abuses about the close takes and either the close up.
The natural landscape is superbly photographed; and the story is told organical without any hole, with clever clues you slowly are discovering and finding all the details.
His style reminds me the influence of two great directors,the first one obviously is Douglas Sirk and the other one is Joseph Losey. The script is built following the classical structure of the soap melodrama, but its flowness and the articulation of smart secondary themes avoids falling that road.
The camera shows no mercy with the double moral in that neighborhood. The envy and bitter sights falls under the raising relationship with her gardener. Once more the racism phantom rises as a veil that surrounds and warns her friends.Remember the explicit sequence in the modern art musseum.
But the most remarkable aspect from this film is the way is told. It's an european approach, all along the story and specially remarked in that exquisite ending sequence.
I really expect great future works from this young film maker.
And obviously the support given by Mrs. Moore is first rate. She is one of the twenty top great actress in the world.
Watch this one. It will let you thinking for along, long time.
Movie Review: Far From Parody
Summary: 5 Stars
It's obvious that director Todd Haynes used the work of Douglas Sirk as a reference point with "Far From Heaven". It's a homage of Sirk that isn't reduced to parody unlike the work of, say, Brian DePalma and his Hitchcock obsession. Granted, the film is set in the white picket fence suburban fifties but strip away the beehives and the tailfins there is alot here that can be reflected in contemporary society. Haynes succeeds in using Sirk as a template but distinguishing himself in the process. As daring a director that Sirk was he couldn't fully explore certain themes that Haynes has the luxury of. Where Haynes succeeds best is in his handling of race relations and not just the platonic one between Kathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) and Raymond Deegan (Dennis Haysbert). Not to diminish the work of Moore and Haysbert because they are excellent here particularly in the heartbreaking final scenes of the movie. Two scenes come to my mind that put the nature of racism under the microscope. One is at a cocktail party congregated by ivory tower liberals who make thoughtless comments oblivious to the sensitivities of the African-American servers. Another is at a swimming pool in Miami Beach where the bathers flee after a young African-American boy unknowingly dangles his feet in the water. I thought Haynes was a little tentative in exploring homosexuality. Dennis Quaid is fine as Frank Whitaker whose not so latent homosexuality comes at the most inopportune time but I just didn't feel the character was as fully developed as he might have been. Otherwise, "Far From Heaven" is one of the best films of recent years and probably of this decade.Movie Review: No easy answers as 1950s social taboos are broken
Summary: 5 Stars
This film has a lot going for it and I can easily understand why it received several Academy Award nominations. It's set in the 1950s, but it's a film that could never have been made at that time. That's because the themes of homosexuality and interracial romance could only be hinted at in those days. The story is about the kind of upscale suburban couple with two children who seem to have a perfect life. All is not well however. Both the husband and wife have both broken social taboos of the time and have to deal with the consequences. The acting is outstanding and so is the script. I was immediately involved in their predicaments and felt tension throughout as they tried to cope with the realities around them.
Written and directed by Todd Haynes, the script is excellent and never preaches. At the same time, the dilemma was brilliantly etched in color. I mean this literally. The clothes were all 1950's style but, compared to films actually made in the 50's, they were uglier and brighter. In one scene all the women were dressed in bright orange hues. And even the gardener was dressed in an orange shirt and trousers. At other times they're all dressed in shades of green. Julianne Moore always had perfect makeup, wore bright dresses with full skirts and, for some strange reason, never carried a purse when she went anywhere. This gave the film a surreal feeling, almost like a comic book sketch, with the details exaggerated just enough to enrich the theme.
This is a fine film. It captured an era as well as the individual stories. And it didn't give any easy answers. Definitely recommended.