|
FAR FROM HEAVEN Send This Review to a Friend
There was considerable, well-justified buzz at theToronto International Film Festival 2002 for Todd Haynes's "Far From Heaven," which harks back to the sort of 1950s romantic melodramas embodied in Douglas Sirk's 's 1955 "All That Heaven Allows." Haynes has perfectly captured the aura and nuances of the genre, visually and emotionally. Both writing and directing, Haynes constructs a story with Julianne Moore as Cathy, a Connecticut housewife who doesn't realize that her husband Frank, with Dennis Quaid outstanding in that role, is secretly gay and wracked with pain and guilt in trying to lead a married life despite his inner needs and desires.
Dennis Haysbert gives a particularly sensitive performance playing Raymond, an African-American gardener, as sparks of understanding develop between him and Cathy, which leads to vicious gossip in the racial atmosphere of the period. Moore, who won the best actress award at the Venice Festival for her work in the film, brings a special quality to the part, and while Haynes resurrects the atmosphere from another time, he raises issues that still resonate for today. The film shows signs of being one of the most talked about this year, and justifiably so.
What's amazing is how perfectly Haynes has been able to bring to mind another time and place. The film is clearly a cinematic triumph. One can be enraptured simply marveling at the clothes, the cars, the suburban houses, the furnishings, the costumes, the hairdos, the autumn leaves, and Ed Lachman's gorgeous cinematography. But that's just an achievement on one level.
Even more important is the content. They used to call films like this one women's pictures, but "Far From Heaven" demonstrates the power of a domestic drama to still move viewers. This is as much due to the strength of the acting as to the screenplay. Quaid gives one of the best performances of his career, and he has the advantage of being able to deal far more openly with homosexuality than would have been possible in the 1950s. Likewise, Moore and Haysbert stir vibes that carry meaning even at this late date. Cathy's character, however, seems especially naïve in that someone who has been called radical for her college activities and sympathizes with the NAACP seems to have no clue that being seen around town with her black gardener would start tongues wagging.
Haynes is careful about the restraint he uses. The relationship between Cathy and Raymond rests on the empathy they have for one another as human beings, not through sexual sparks, although you can sense some of that too. The film beautifully delineates the need for making contact and finding understanding, yet it also is cognizant of the impossibility of the situation for both Cathy and Raymond and the subject is handled with utter sensitivity. We are also made to sympathize with Cathy concerning the blow to her orderly life as a result of her marriage falling apart behind the façade of suburban tranquility. The supporting cast members also merit praise, including Patricia Clarkson as Cathy's friend Eleanor, who is loyal to a point but reveals her own prejudice when the chips are down, and Viola Davis as Sybil, Cathy's housekeeper, who brings a dignity to the part as she gives the impression that she is keenly observant but still knows the limits of her job.
"Far From Heaven" deftly enables us to keep one eye on the fifties and another on today as the events and issues in the melodrama blend impressively into a rich movie experience. A Focus Features release.
|