Review of Far from Heaven (2002) by Adam R — 07 Dec 2009

Too bad Martin Scorsese didn't watch "Far from Heaven" before filming "The Aviator" - perhaps he would have recognized recreating the style of films in the past had more to do with setting and mood than smearing every frame with colors resembling the most hideous Jell-O imaginable.

Julianne Moore gives one of her best performances as Kathy, who, like her character in "The Hours" from the same year, plays a seemingly happy '50s housewife in an idyllic suburb with an apparently ideal life. However, Kathy's world is about to be rocked, first by the revelation of her husband's (Dennis Quaid) latent homosexuality followed by neighborly gossip about her relationship with the black gardener, Raymond (Dennis Haysbert).

Writer-director Todd Haynes does an excellent job of mimicking the style - both visually and emotionally - of a Douglas Sirk-style melodrama, painting vivid portraits of unhappy people through picture windows which, while beautifully colored with tinted glass, act as nothing more than flashy prisons for those inside.