| Product: |
Far From Heaven (DVD) |
| Date: |
15/04/03 (33 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Lush cinematography, Generally good performances
Disadvantages: Character of Raymond is unbelievable, Subject of film doesn't fit well with the style of the film
Far From Heaven is a period film, but not in the usual sense. Not only is the setting of the film the 1950s in suburban America, but the very style the film is that of a 1950s melodrama of the sort often associated with Douglas Sirk. The challenge for director Todd Haynes was to make a film that remained compelling for modern audiences despite this.
The film starts in autumn in Connecticut where we are introduced to Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore), the perfect suburban housewife with the perfect family of two kids (one of each) and husband Frank (Dennis Quaid). This is the 1950s and Frank is firmly in the role of breadwinner while Cathy spends her days socialising with other local women, the housework being done by the family's maid who is of course black. They appear to be living the ideal life, even being picked by Frank's firm to represent them as Mr. and Mrs. Magnotech, but it quickly transpires that the perfection is just a facade. We learn that Frank is homosexual, as does Cathy when she goes to surprise him at the office one evening and catches him in the act of kissing another man. Cathy herself finds herself drawn to her new gardener, a black man called Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert) who has just taken over from his father. Frank goes to a doctor to try to 'cure' himself of his 'disease', as Cathy spends more and more time with Raymond, inciting some poisonous gossip.
The first thing that strikes you about Far From Heaven is the luscious cinematography, which makes full use of the autumnal foliage as a backdrop for the film. Rich use of colours in the costumes and sets as well as the trees all serve to evoke the films of the period being portrayed, everything looks too perfect to be real, and it's hard not to expect a modern twist that subverts the perfection.
The performances are what you'd expect from a strong cast. Julianne Moore is always convincing in a role that could easily have strayed
into melodrama, and Dennis Quaid is effective in playing a conflicted and complex character, far from his normal type of part. Dennis Haysbert unfortunately suffers from his success on the television series 24, making it hard to see him as a humble gardener rather than the President of the USA. He also suffers from having the character with the least depth, being too good and without any flaws to be really believable.
The essence of this film is tackling the issue of prejudices of sexuality and of race in the 1950s and in the style of a 1950s film, an inherent contradiction as films of that time could only begin to hint at the racial issues tackled here let alone those of sexuality. This makes for an odd viewing experience as the storyline unfolds, it is strangely jarring to see homosexuality being openly portrayed in a film that's trying so hard to replicate those of the time. The subjects are nothing new for a modern audience, the problems of inter-racial relationships in times of prejudice and homosexuality within a marriage are entirely familiar, and beyond the presentation there is nothing original to be found here.
Despite being so beautifully shot, in the end the style of the film becomes a distraction from the story, and rather than placing familiar plotlines in a new context which sheds new light on them, Far From Heaven is incongruous and unsatisfying.
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