Review of All That Heaven Allows (1955) by Brad S — 28 Oct 2016

This classic from Douglas Sirk is just the second film of his I have seen of his, after "Immitation of Life". He is widely know for doing melodramas, that also happen to be beautiful, and with big name stars, but based on these two films at least, he also seems to be delivering strong social commentaries underneath the melodrama.

With this film, I had a tough time getting into the film for a while, it at first just seemed like a typical melodrama, but the further I got into the film, the more I started to notice other things, such as the underlying anger Sirk seems to present toward the society that is frowning upon the romance of the two leads, Rock Hudson seen as a lowly gardener and Jane Wyman as the older widower with money and standing.

As the anger and underlying commentary became more prominent, things got more interesting for me. In my opinion, there is a clear resentment towards the societal crowd that is ostracizing the two lovers, which seems to me like a rare stance for a 50's film.

The other thing I should comment on, and one of the most significant things of the picture, is the gorgeous Technicolor cinematography. Along with "The Red Shoes", this may be the most beautiful film shot in Technicolor.

I am not sure that this film will appeal to everyone, but I certainly think it is worth watching.