MOVIE: Far From Heaven
Starring Julianna Moore, Dennis Quaid,
Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson
Written and Directed by Todd Haynes
Music By Elmer Bernstein
Universal Focus
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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Far From Heaven starts out so lusciously idyllic that it's almost painful. Juliana Moore is probably going to get an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Cathy Whitaker, our heroine, who is having a picture perfect Donna Reed/Pleasantville kind of life until she finds out her husband (Dennis Quaid) is gay. Of course in her button-down society this is something no one talks about openly. As she watches her perfect marriage fall apart, she loses all her regular friends over it. Indeed, the one person she can talk to about it is her gardener (Dennis Haysbert). Unfortunately he's a black man and she can't be seen with him.

We prefer to remember the 50s as that perfect time of bobby socks and Doo-Wop but of course Far From Heaven proves that time really didn't exist. I guess objects appear larger than life in the rear view mirror. To get this effect Director Todd Haynes (Also Director of Velvet Goldmine) has beautifully shot everything - it starts in the fall where all the colors seem over-amplified - but he also added a wonderful score by Elmer Bernstein himself which adds to the larger-than-life feel. This movie could have easily turned into a melodramatic soap opera, but instead Haynes maintains a tightly choreographed flow that doesn't get too pedantic. Far from Heaven moves along with an easy grace that belies all the effort that must have gone into it. This touching story may come to rival classics like To Kill A Mockingbird.

The Skinny:
Was I glad I saw the movie? Yes.
Would I go to see it again? Some might call it a chick flick but it's so finely crafted I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

© 2003 - Rusty Pipes