Feature
Review | Far From Heaven
Written by: Brian
Orndorf
In 1957 Connecticut, Cathy (Julianne Moore) and Frank Whitaker
(Dennis Quaid) are the envy of their friends, have two beautiful
children, and live a seemingly perfect life. But Frank is slowly
pulling away, and when Cathy finds out Frank’s homosexual feelings
are to blame for the distance between them, she seeks refuge in the
arms of the gardener, an African-American named Raymond (Dennis
Haysbert). Cathy and Raymond’s relationship is frowned upon by the
entire community, and forces Cathy to confront her own feelings of
love as the world she held so securely begins to crumble around her.
Director Todd Haynes has created something unusual and gorgeous
with “Far >From Heaven.” An experiment in direct homage to the
Douglas Sirk (“All That Heaven Allows”) melodramas of the 1950s,
Haynes’s film is so enveloped in period detail and technique, that
one could be fooled into thinking this was an actual picture from the
era. Much like Gus Van Sant’s unjustly ridiculed remake of
“Psycho,” “Heaven” recreates Sirk’s filmmaking prowess down
to the most minute details one could think of, with Haynes‘s touches
(including some same sex kissing and one F-bomb) only occasionally
intruding on the delicate proceedings intermittently. Haynes’s
affection for the genre is evident in every frame, from the lush
Technicolor-like palettes to the overwhelming emotional demands made
on each character, the careful editing and slow dissolves, and Elmer
Bernstein’s ripe and pitch-perfect score. On a purely technical
level, this is obscenely tight filmmaking. And after coming off his
exhilarating, elaborate 70s glam rock opera “Velvet Goldmine,”
this is quite an artistic leap for Haynes.
On a dramatic level, one must come to terms with “Heaven’s”
period pace. This is an undeniably slow picture fashioned from an era
of filmmaking that relied on pause and reflect. Acting has come a long
way since then, and taking a trip back to the era of “Heaven” can
sometimes be a chore to sit through. Again, Haynes must be given
credit for keeping true to his word, and never allowing the actors the
release of method acting. But the suppression of the internal
emotional hurricanes becomes tiresome quickly, leaving the eyes to
wander back on the details of the photography, and never becoming
truly immersed in the story. Thankfully the film never delves into
camp, with the temptation to do so these days unceasing. But by
keeping the filmmaking straight and steady, Haynes looses the power of
his story in the mix.
Even held under the weight of restraint, the cast comes out as
pretty as the breezy, leaf falling autumn days depicted in the film.
Dennis Quaid turns in stellar work as the repressed gay man living a
lie, Dennis Haysbert is quiet and gentle as Cathy’s infatuation, but
it is Julianne Moore’s work that provides the core of the film.
Reteaming with Haynes after their 1995 urban allergy film “Safe,”
the duo are in perfect sync here. Moore has cornered the market when
it comes to playing cold, detached characters, but she brings out the
beauty in Cathy, as well as the utter grasping the character does to
keep her life afloat (she’s equally as good in the same type of role
in Stephen Daldry’s upcoming “The Hours”).
As a pure exercise in recreation, “Far From Heaven” will
astound you, and I would recommend it purely as a feast for the eyes.
Just don’t expect to be reaching for your hankies at the very end.
Grade: 8 out of 10
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