Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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89 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Cosmetic Facade Cracked by Ugly Realtiy, June 5, 2003
With FAR FROM HEAVEN, writer-director Todd Haynes meticulously recreates the look and conventions of 1950s "domestic drama"--and then subverts it. Like all domestic drama heroines, Cathy Whittaker (Julianne Moore) is a glamorous woman, and the film finds her married to Frank (Dennis Quaid), a rising executive in television sales. They are the perfect 1950s family: they are upwardly mobile, have two children (a boy and a girl, of course), live in an expensive home in an expensive residential district. One evening, Cathy unexpectedly opens a door--and discovers that Frank is unfaithful to her.If this were a Douglas Sirk film starring Lana Turner, Cathy would have found Frank in the arms of another woman and done battle with her to save her marriage. But Frank is in the arms of another man, something that falls completely outside Cathy's frame of reference. Desperate to save her marriage, she encourages Frank to see a psychiatrist; unable to confide in her friends lest she provoke a scandal, she finds solace in the company of her gardener. But he is black--and when their largely innocent friendship is discovered it provokes the very scandal she feared. The themes of homosexuality and racism are merely the most obvious way in which Haynes subverts the genre. More interestingly, Haynes essentially presents us with characters trapped between the stereotypes of 1950s domestic drama and hard reality, and the result is often quite surreal. Time and again the characters respond to harsh reality by resorting to the high-flown dialogue and awkward dollops of social consciousness typical of the genre--and time and again the nature of the film works to highlight how ridiculously unnatural this response is. As the film progresses, it becomes increasingly claustrophobic in feel, and while none can deny that it is homage in form, it becomes metaphor in fact, satirizing and condemning both the artificial social codes of the past and present. Moreover, it works to undercut our selective memory of the 1950s, which we prefer to recall as "Happy Days" but which saw the House Un-American Committee, The Cold War, and the beginnings of everything from racial integration, the gay rights movement, and feminism--and in the face of such issues role models like Lana Turner in her evening gown and Donna Reed with her pearls crack and shatter. The cast is superlative here. Julianne Moore, whose career has been building for the past several years, clearly demonstrates that she is now in the same league with the greatest screen actresses of her generation, playing the role of Cathy Whittaker on so many levels that it has the effect of an emotional Rubik's Cube. Dennis Quaid, best known for playing mischievously macho "bad boy" characters, gives an extremely unexpected and highly charged performance as husband Frank, and both are excellently supported. The script captures every grotesque nuance of the 1950s domestic drama while neatly undermining it at every turn, and the production staff has done a remarkable job of recreating the visual style involved. The cinematography and score are incredibly beautiful, and the director's approach to the project is less homage than it is critical evaluation of those who enjoy such artificial constructs both then and now, both on the screen and off. It is an extraordinary feat, and quite possibly one of the best movies of the past ten years. The DVD package is quite interesting, with three solid documentaries and a good director's commentary. FAR FROM HEAVEN will not be to every one's taste, not by a long shot. Many who liked the 1950s "domestic drama" genre--and many who don't--will not be able to make the leap of perception that Haynes requires, won't be able to shift gears to look at the work with the objectivity necessary. But it is powerful stuff, and I recommend it all the same. --GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--
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79 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important and Emotionally Compelling, November 19, 2002
The tremendously talented director Todd Haynes, has created an amazing new film called Far From Heaven. It is the 1950s in Hartford, Connecticut. Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) lives in a perfectly lovely house with a perfectly lovely family. She is a respected and envied member of her community, admired for her liberal mind and successful husband. However, as the film progresses we see trouble brewing between husband and wife. Frank Whitaker ( Dennis Quaid) is coming home later in the evenings and his drinking is slipping out of control. Then Cathy, ever the dutiful wife, walks into Frank's office late one night while delivering his dinner and discovers her husband's horrible secret. The occurrence is such a shocking rupture to their peaceful world that they aren't able to summon the language to articulate it. Instead, they try to carry on as if nothing has changed using the most modern psychological methods to deal with it. But it becomes increasingly obvious that this isn't possible despite running away to a peaceful vacation in Miami where Cathy proclaims "Everything is pink!" Not least of all because Cathy has befriended her new black gardener (Dennis Haysbert) and the town sure is talking. These characters all struggle to voice their independent needs in a society whose code of conduct is so strict that anything which deviates from it must be swept quickly under the carpet or violently vilified, where "jiminy cricket" is considered strong language not to be used in the house.From the moment the camera pans down on this perfect community life, we realise we are looking through the prismatic lens of America's most prominent ideals: happy family, affluent lifestyle, happy home. This film was strongly influenced by the melodramatic 50s films of Douglas Sirk, particularly All That Heaven Allows. Haynes uses colors in a way similar to Sirk that creates sharp contrasts of emotional moods that aren't possible to articulate in the restrained dialogue. Each scene is carefully balanced with soft and hard colors setting the mood. Similarly, the script reflects those melodramas inspired by stories from Ladies Home Journals. The characters are only allowed to speak of things on the surface because of the constraints of their community and are only occasionally given moments to speak in grandiose terms of life's great mystery. Sweeping over this emotional tale is a triumphant score composed by Elmer Bernstein that will remain humming in your mind after the film ends. The actors of this film really contribute to its tremendous success. Dennis Quaid's performance is powerful in conveying his inability to express hidden aspects of his identity as well his complete disregard for Cathy's needs. He is often cloaked in shadow as if striving to disappear from his hated environment. Dennis Haysbert's character is dignified, quietly hopeful that you may do what feels right if you don't pay attention to the sneering gossips. Haysbert conveys this wonderfully and makes our hearts break when his dignity is eclipsed by fear once serious danger arrives on his doorstep. Equally strong are smaller roles performed movingly by actors like Bette Henritze and young Jordan Puryear. Most prominently, the film is carried along beautifully by its center, Julianne Moore. She gives tremendous dignity to this female character who in her own way is trying to understand and define her desires amidst a maelstrom of public scrutiny. She trembles in the face of prejudice, anger and hate, but never crumbles. Unlike her husband, who wildly abandons the needs of everyone but himself, Cathy must keep up the house and uphold appearances. It would be easy for Moore to deliver this in a knowing self-conscious manner like parody, but we never see more than the utmost sincerity. Her performance is worthy of many awards. One might ask why Haynes felt it necessary to dredge up this outmoded film style now. The answer he has given to this is that it conveys aspects of our society that aren't possible in modern, straightforward films. He says that the "issues" raised in this film are still evident in our 2002 society in different forms, but remain unresolved nonetheless. The primary accomplishment of this film is the way it raises issues from different marginal groups of American society, revealing that most commonly women's needs are almost always placed last. No one meaning breaks to the forefront of your understanding of the film though. It is most definitely not playful pastiche. Perhaps the style of it is intended to just hold up our ideals to the light, like a piece of fine crystal to illuminate all the cracks and magnificent colors.
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33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stairway to Heaven, November 8, 2002
"Far from Heaven" is Todd Haynes' homage and attempt to recreate what was called, in the 50's and 60's, a "weepie," a domestic melodrama with all the attendant production values: lush musical score, sumptuous costumes and a heroine with big concerns/problems mostly having to do with Love, Family and usually both. Think "Written on the Wind," "Magnificent Obsession" or "All that Heaven Allows." The problem with this kind of a venture is that in order for it to work it must be handled in a non-ironic, straightforward manner. Haynes's and his actors succeed most but not 100% of the time. The very nature of an enterprise like this calls for a somewhat arch and precise acting technique as we are dealing with a dead genre probably farther removed from our 2002 reality than are Shakespeare's plays.
Like the best of these films, "Far from Heaven" can be unbelievably moving; when we are not only marveling at the gorgeous mise en scene but when the superior acting abilities of the amazing Julianne Moore as Cathy shine through.
Cathy and her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) lead a tranquil life in Connecticut where beautiful and well-put together Cathy is slowly withering away, being eaten alive by the fact that her perfect life is irrevocably punctured when she catches her husband in the arms of another man. But this is not all. Cathy's natural openness towards everyone she comes across as well as her empathy for other races specifically her African American gardener Raymond (Dennis Haysbert) is also causing gossip among her friends and her neighbors. The outwardly disapproving and disgusted looks on the townspeople's faces when Cathy is with Raymond are laughable in one way but in another really goes to the heart of race relations then as well as now. Has much changed in this regard in the last 44 years?
There is a very poignant scene in which Frank slaps Cathy across the face and Cathy, always the understanding one, reassures him that all is "fine" but then pathetically asks him to bring her some ice to quell the swelling. She tells her friend, Eleonor (Patricia Clarkson): "Frank didn't mean to hit me." Frank, in a kind of homosexual panic, lashes out at Cathy, the one person who loves and accepts him; as well as the one who reminds him on a daily basis that his love for her is a lie. The scene in which Frank asks Cathy for a divorce is a stunner: watch Moore's eyes and body language. Even when her heart seems about to explode, her eyes remain dry, calm and understanding even in this harrowing and unspeakable situation.
So as not to portray her as the ultimate victim, Haynes has smartly imbued Cathy with a strong desire to change from the all accepting, never questioning woman she's been to the strong, independent woman she aches to become. Her heartbreaking attempts to contact the N.A.A.C.P to volunteer are both incredibly naïve yet strongly sympathetic.
Heaven to Cathy Whitaker is a place in which she is always loved, always valued, forever cherished. Nothing could be more basic yet more unattainable whether it be 1958 or 2002.
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