Talking To The Screen
Far From Heaven : 2002
Wednesday, 1/15/03, 2:47 pm
Home
?Far from Heaven? is an unlikely period piece. It tells the story of the Whitaker Family, Cathy (Julianne Moore) and Frank (Dennis Quaid) and their two kids. A quiet nuclear family from 1950?s Connecticut. Their life is simple and neat like the ?50s were on paper. Then the cracks start to show. Frank is privately battling his homosexuality, like I imagine many gay men were. Through misfortune, Cathy discovers his secret and the cracks start to show. She confides in her black gardener, Raymond Deagan played by Dennis Haysbert. Their friendship is totally taboo within Cathy?s lily white community. Homosexuality can be cured, but blackness is permanent.
Other movies that have taken place in the fifties don?t have the same feel of a period film. Off the top of my head, only ?La Bamba? and ?Forrest Gump? are coming to mind, but the point remains. ?Far From Heaven? is replete with antiquated characters, dress and vernacular. Even the conflicts of the plot are completely foreign in modern America. Since the ?50s homophobia and racism have been marginalized out of public acceptability. The juxtaposition of these two forms of hatred is what makes ?Far From Heaven? noteworthy. There?s no shying away from either of them, no coddling of emotion, no glorification. The movie tells a convincing story of hatred in America.
?Far From Heaven? is an example of solid professional filmmaking. The script is excellent. The acting is great, with a wonderful surprise by way of believable emotional intensity from Dennis Quaid. The camerawork and editing are very neat and clean. I?ll lukewarmly recommend this movie; not everyone is interested in a slow, deliberate albeit engaging drama about homosexuality and interracial friendship.
Home
?Far from Heaven? is an unlikely period piece. It tells the story of the Whitaker Family, Cathy (Julianne Moore) and Frank (Dennis Quaid) and their two kids. A quiet nuclear family from 1950?s Connecticut. Their life is simple and neat like the ?50s were on paper. Then the cracks start to show. Frank is privately battling his homosexuality, like I imagine many gay men were. Through misfortune, Cathy discovers his secret and the cracks start to show. She confides in her black gardener, Raymond Deagan played by Dennis Haysbert. Their friendship is totally taboo within Cathy?s lily white community. Homosexuality can be cured, but blackness is permanent.
Other movies that have taken place in the fifties don?t have the same feel of a period film. Off the top of my head, only ?La Bamba? and ?Forrest Gump? are coming to mind, but the point remains. ?Far From Heaven? is replete with antiquated characters, dress and vernacular. Even the conflicts of the plot are completely foreign in modern America. Since the ?50s homophobia and racism have been marginalized out of public acceptability. The juxtaposition of these two forms of hatred is what makes ?Far From Heaven? noteworthy. There?s no shying away from either of them, no coddling of emotion, no glorification. The movie tells a convincing story of hatred in America.
?Far From Heaven? is an example of solid professional filmmaking. The script is excellent. The acting is great, with a wonderful surprise by way of believable emotional intensity from Dennis Quaid. The camerawork and editing are very neat and clean. I?ll lukewarmly recommend this movie; not everyone is interested in a slow, deliberate albeit engaging drama about homosexuality and interracial friendship.