Review of Far from Heaven (2002) by Jim H — 07 May 2012

Fifties era social prejudices are exposed when a husband reveals his homosexuality while his wife falls for their African American gardener.

Juxtaposing prejudices race and sexuality could produce a winning social critique, but by the end of this film, I don't know what the film is really saying. After all, the abuses faced by the two "others" in this film don't lead to a one-to-one comparison. In fact, turning the homosexual into the perpetrator of racial prejudice muddles the film's message.

I hate Julianne Moore; this film is no different, and Dennis Haysbert plays Deegan just like his Allstate commercials. And the music is overwrought, always instructing us how to feel about the film's events. Finally, the cliched fifties housewife doesn't ascend beyond her cliche strictures despite the extraordinary nature of the film's events.

Overall, Far from Heaven is an interesting idea for a film, but there's too much in the way of poor execution.