Review of Far from Heaven (2002) by Bill H — 03 Jun 2008

This is a small revisit. Most everything said before remains, but with some noted changes. ^_^.

On the surface, Far from Heaven looks like a prettyful homage to old-school films, what with the retro title cards beginning and end, not to mention the era the film takes place. Julianne Moore is very good in the film. Despite being a real square for most of the film, her character does begin to pick up during the last hour or so. Dennis Quaid is hardly shown, and if he is, he's got a secret, he's breaking down, or he's drinking away his problems. Dennis Haysbert portrays such intelligence that he is high above everybody else, but as the story unravels, it's so sad to see what choices he must make, as do the three of these characters. Everything is strictly a no-no in this black and white (metaphorical and literal) society where everyone wears blinders and must conform to a "normal" status (as it was back then). Perhaps it's still like this today, but at least some improvements have been made since then.

As noted earlier, it's a movie set in the '50s that also emulates a typical '50s film, therefore the actors must follow in this set-up. So now, I can look past the flatness of each character, the quibble I had with this film earlier. The thing I liked most about Far from Heaven was that it took all these elements and shook it up to have these characters take a walk on the wild side where it had yet to be treaded on. First time around, I thought the entire film was flat, performances and presentation, and that it hadn't really anything original. But taking note of the film's title and the questionable directions these characters retreat to, it's not so much about touchy topics set in a retro environment, but how a society warps the mind, and if one or more dare to disrupt it, then the shit hits the fan... kinda like that movie Pleasantville. Nothing is ever too fun and fancy free, not then, and not even now. By this point, I've just about fallen in love with this film. ^_^.