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 The
life of Frank (Dennis Quaid) and Cathy Whitaker (Julianne
Moore) and their two children in 1950s Hartford seems perfect.
Cathy is the model homemaker, and she and Frank are model citizens.
But as Far From Heaven progresses, we see that all is not
as it seems. Despite Cathy’s efforts to the contrary, her marriage
begins to fall apart when she discovers Frank has been hiding homosexual
tendencies. And slowly she finds the only person she can confide in
is her gardener, Raymond (Dennis Haysbert), a black
man who the rest of her friends look down upon. Suddenly, innocent
chats become scandalous, and Cathy’s life begins to unravel.
For Far From Heaven, director/screenwriter Todd
Haynes sought to recreate the perfect, pristine look of
50s Hollywood studio films – the heightened intensity of those
films’ sets, costumes, color palettes, frame compositions
and lighting – and he has definitely succeeded. But even more
powerful are the themes he explores: racism, homosexuality, and
the role of women in families. He uses a 1950s-type story of a seemingly
idealized life to expose not only the problems that were festering
beneath the surface then, but also to illustrate just how little
we’ve progressed in these areas in the 21st century. And his
vision is further fleshed out by the phenomenal acting of leads
Moore and Quaid. The only downside of the film is the slightly-too-slow
pace; but overall, Far From Heaven is a heavenly piece
of filmmaking.
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