Review of Far from Heaven (2002) by Robert H — 08 Feb 2015

To the outside world, the Whitakers have a perfect 1950s American home-life. Frank is a successful local businessman while, wife, Cathy is the quintessential mother and housewife, spending her days preparing for parties and tending to the needs of her family.

However, this fragile veneer is shattered one night when Cathy discovers her husband has a secret life that becomes an irresistible compulsion. This movie is a closely observed character study of a woman who's life is irreversibly shaken and it is beautifully done.

The whole story is played out against the backdrop of the prejudices of the time and, despite this in many ways being a slight tale, it is also a profound one. Cathy's friends, all society ladies, show their cruelty and shallowness as the whispers are passed around the community as the plot unfolds and she is wrongly accused of breaking the taboos prevalent at the time.

Julianne Moore gives a perfect performance as Cathy, making dialogue that could seem stilted and false come alive with deeper meaning. Dennis Quaid plays the part of Frank with enough vulnerability but isn't really given enough to do to make his predicament truly deserving of sympathy.

The strongest male lead is taken by Dennis Haysbert who plays the intelligent, gentle Raymond, the gardener who strikes up a friendship with Cathy. The whole movie looks stunning with the autumnal colours of Connecticut forming a background that almost becomes a character in itself to the on-screen action.

1950s American has seldom looked more ravishing or been so sinister as it is here and director Todd Haynes is to be congratulated for that. Where I feel that the film does fall down slightly is that at the ending, I really felt there was so much more to be told about the lives of the three main protagonists and so was left feeling a little cheated by the way things hang in the air.