Review of Far from Heaven (2002) by Simon L — 20 Nov 2007

â??Do you think we ever really do? See beyond the surface of things?â??â??Cathy Whitaker.

It certainly is hard to see beyond the surface of Far From Heaven, the 21st century tribute to melodramas of the 1950s, for the surface is distracting perfection. Aside from its superb set design, however, the film plays rather like an amateurish stage production, as the poised characters move through singsong â??life is perfectâ?? dialogue without a pause, without a hint of personality, without a single breath of naturalism.

This unreal atmosphere chokes every corner of the frame through long, expertly calibrated tracking shots, until a break in the pattern occurs: a child wondering why her father is never home, a successful businessman pulling a liquor bottle out of his cabinet, Cathy Whitaker chatting and smiling with her friendsâ??a look of limitless grief flitting across her features. Reality gnaws through the sleek surface, leaving the characters stammering and sobbingâ??as unsightly and as (briefly) real as can be. To go this far, and then to offer a beam of sunlight illuminating Julianne Mooreâ??s face, or a sweeping violin drowning out a curse: this is the deceptive, compassionate work of Todd Haynes. Also, Iâ??d certainly cite Moore as the best performance of the decade, and probably among the greatest of all time.