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 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
Though less obviously a tour de force than many flashier recent art films, such as Alexander Sokurov's one-take feature Russian Ark, it's no less impressive as a technical achievement.
Well-written, nicely acted and beautifully shot and scored, the film works on several levels, openly questioning social mores while ensnaring the audience with its emotional pull.
Censorship dictated the Hollywood product of the time, reflecting only the most idealized notion of U.S. society, with all sorts of skeletons shoved decisively into their closets.
The film confronts the eraâ(TM)s intolerance with regard to gender and race relations, but it should be noted that Haynes films without a trace of irony. The actors offer similarly genuine performances.
It's a rare thing when a movie makes you react emotionally to the repressive taboos of a past decade while...provoking you to reconsider the attitudes of present society.
A recriação do estilo de Douglas Sirk é interessante, mas soa como mero artifício de Haynes. Já a subtrama envolvendo Quaid (e a bela atuação deste) engrandecem o filme.
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 NO" 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.
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 deeply divided. A film that will remain a
classic.
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