Cathy Whitaker (Moore) is living the ideal life, one that makes most women envy her. But Cathy's dream life comes crashing down when she sees her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) kissing another man and rumors about her start to spread that she's getting a little too acquainted with her gardener Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert).
Far from Heaven feels like it's actually from the 1950s, not just set during that time period. A contributing factor for that is the Elmer Bernstein score. Moore and Quaid give career best performances, making the fact that an Oscar eluded Moore and a nomination eluded Quaid more derogatory. It's kind of appalling that 1950s behavior was probably like that. Homosexuality was considered a disease? A white woman seen with a black man causes scandal? Good Lord, they must've been trying really hard to preserve the "perfect image". To quote Some Like It Hot, nobody's perfect. Anyway, before I get sidetracked, back to what I was saying. Far from Heaven creates a excellent atmosphere of the 1950s, a past which covered the truth with artificial smiles.
My Rating: ****1/2
What always interested me about cinema, beyond the entertainment factor (which is always important for me), is the ability to present a time and a place in a particular light, with a new and often challenging perspective for people who may come to the film with their own assumptions and persuasions. I'm not sure Far from Heaven is my cup of tea but films like this certainly do provoke opinion.
ReplyDelete