Review of Far from Heaven (2002) by Brian E — 23 Aug 2009

Not only was Far From Heaven one of the most praised films of 2003, but it is currently still praised as one of the decade's best - and I watched the film expecting simply to be more than impressed and left extremely underwhelmed and confused.

Why are such blatantly preachy films like Far From Heaven and 2005's awful after-school-special "Crash" both such highly-regarded films? The film's setting is one straight out of an episode of "Leave It To Beaver" - wonderful Northeastern 1950's scenery, perfect white conservative family complete with black servant, perfect family (where the boy refers to his dad as "POPS!" ever so enthusiastically each and every time he is addressed) - and yes, this caricatured portrait is socio-historically accurate I would believe, which further makes this film one cut above the avoidable "Crash".

But okay, I get it - the first ideal vision of the American dream is founded by a successful and solid white community with a certain lack of association with Negros and Gays - it's how you become successful in one's career standing, it's how you can stay mingle-ridden within your upper class, and I guess segregation is just that much safer.

I agree 100% with the film's stand against our nation's founding sociology and the potential portrait it constructs; yet why must liberal Hollywood perform such contrived lessons for the common dud instead of furthering its artful capacities and venturing out into something more profound but with more subtlety instead of selling to the common moviegoer and pull their visible strings? "Crash" did this worse, but with the same amount of predictable stereotypes and profiling.

Far From Heaven does display the wrongs of forced social norms in a deeper sense, however, as well as at least attempting to be a bit more artful in the process with glowing landscape and setting and astonishing acting.

The film itself, as a whole, suffers tremendously in my humble opinion.