Far from Heaven

"This movie reminded me of what film making is capable of."
(Awesome)

It's this simple. If Far From Heaven doesn't receive a slew of 2003 Oscar nominations, there is no justice. Far From Heaven is a film that is both comforting and disquieting in its mastery. Set in the impenetrably perfect world of 1950’s America, Todd Haynes has rendered an engaging portrait of the heart wrenching events that can occur beneath the façade of conformity.

It is a film that sears the psyche because it appeals to so many of the viewer’s baser traits. There is a part of us, politically incorrect as it may be, that at times wants a world bereft of conflict, that wants everyone to look, act and think like us. But deep down, we know that a carbon copy world is ultimately stifling. Once the standard is set, no quarter will be given when all does not go as planned.

This is the predicament that Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) finds herself in when her picture perfect world begins to collapse around her in Hartford, Connecticut circa 1957. Her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) is having a heterosexual breakdown. He can’t keep up appearances anymore and pretend to be something he’s not. In addition, Cathy has found a soul mate and confidant in the family’s gardener. Trouble is, the local town folk don’t think a white woman’s soul mate should be a black man.

Suddenly, being the perfect wife and mother to everyone else isn’t enough when Cathy’s most fundamental need for real love can’t be met. The world that once gave her all she could want has now become an unforgiving dictator.

But what prevents Far From Heaven from being just another “woman in crisis” movie is the fact that the devastating events of Cathy’s life take place within the confines of a film as rigidly stylized as the society it critiques. The film is a direct imitation of the “women’s melodrama” films of Douglas Sirk.

Sirk fled Nazi Germany only to encounter an America fully entrenched in its own hypocrisy. Unlike the Nazi’s who openly killed off anyone who didn’t meet their social doctrine, American society simply ignored and marginalized them while presenting a unified front to the world.

In short, 1950’s America was just fine if you were white, male, Christian and rich. It was under the guise of “weepers” that Sirk held up a mirror to his audience, showing the toll taken on those whose only crime was being different.

It is this tribute to Sirk’s style that makes the oppression of Cathy’s world all the more palpable. The movie opens with sweeping diagonal credits. The score soars and lilts as events dictate. The cars are brightly colored and rust free. The streets are immaculate and are populated by people with impeccably matched outfits and crisp hats. Kids say “Aw shucks.” and mean it.

Nobody, including Cathy has a hair out of place. Meanwhile, all Hell is breaking loose.

This is where Julianne Moore’s acting really shines. Rarely have I seen a portrayal of a character that is so inaccessible and sympathetic at the same time. Here is a character whose life is hard for anybody, never mind a modern woman to relate to, and yet you completely understand her pain, her hollowness. This is particularly evident in the scenes between Cathy and her gardener Raymond (Dennis Haysbert). These two actors have more chemistry than an atom bomb; yet they only get as far as dancing together.

But perhaps the greatest revelation in Far From Heaven is Dennis Quaid. Here’s an actor as macho as they come, completely believable as a tortured and closeted homosexual whose torn between love for his family and actually being in love for the first time.

What Far From Heaven most palpably illustrates, is that no one is immune to living. There’s a certain perception in the post 1950’s generation that life was somehow easier then, perhaps because our only exposure to it is through the picture perfect movies of the era. On the other hand, our present day world is one where grace and tact are sorely lacking and everyone’s dirty laundry is just a talk show guest spot away. But hey, unlike Cathy, we at least have some room to maneuver.