Julianne Moore in the heart-wrenching finally.
Todd Haynes' "Far from Heaven" is without doubt one of the most beautiful films of the past decade. I will be adding several other pictures because i think the shots of the film are so masterful. From the title of the film, we can tell the film is a melodrama and an homage to Douglas Sirk. I have seen "Magnificent Obsession", "Written in the Wind", "All that Heaven Allows" and "Imitation of Life" and i can tell you that this film could have been made in the 50's-minus the F-word. The cinematography of the film is incredibly done by Edward Lachman who really got in the style of melodramatic cinematography-whatever that means. The performance are akin to those of Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Jane Wyman and Lana Turner. Melodrama shows us the side of women that were not supposed to be seen in the 50's. For example: the crying, drama, breakups, adultery etc. Sirk was brave enough to show that to us and this is an homage to that.
Julianne Moore is probably one of the greatest actresses of our time and still does not have an Oscar. She was nominated for her astounding performance but Nicole Kidman won that year in another incredible performance in "The Hours". Moore plays a calm, "liberal" (which for them means "not racist"), orthodox housewife who looses virtually everything by the curtain call. Dennis Quaid plays her husband in a descent performance. He is hard-working, good-looking, stressed out and gay. but secretly of course. yes he is cheating on her but not with another woman but a man, which is even more scandolous for the time. at that time, homosexuality was diagnosed as a sickness or birth-defect which could be treated with medication or shock therapy. Dennis Haysbert has a outstanding performance as the family's black gardener. His father died recently and Moore takes it on as her responsibility to help him. this can only lead to worse events....
Todd Haynes knows exactly what he wants and has good enough knowledge of film to acheive that. he used veteren Elmer Bernstein to create the masterful score that again make the film flourish. When i first saw the film, i did not like it. i did not like the man cheating on wife with another man part because i thought it distracted from the relationship between Moore and Haysbert which i wnated to focus on. i watched it a seconed time and still did not find it incredibly enjoyable. i found the cinematography, sreenplay (i did think the f-word was a little out of place though), score, costume design and performances beautifully contructed but sill not enjoyable. it took a third and fourth time for me to grasp the wicked sadness and beauty behind the surface of things. i also had to watch a few Sirk films to see the parallel between the two. The film recived 4 Oscar nomination NOT including Best Picture unfortunately. With all those things in mind, i think "Far from Heaven" is, and always shall be, one hell of a picture.
"That was the day I stopped believing in the wild ardor of things. Perhaps in love, as well. That kind of love. The love in books and films. The love that tells us to abandon our lives and plans, all for one brief touch of Venus. So often we fail at that kind of love. The world just seems too fragile a place for it. And of every other kind, life remains full. Perhaps it's just we who are too fragile."
-Cathy Whitaker
You can see a comparison of shots below:
Obviously the sunglasses are very similar and notice the angle...
"Far from Heaven"
"Magnificent Obsession"
The shot: light background, dark foreground was very common throughout both films...
"Far from Heaven"
"All that Heaven Allows"
The blue light or silhouette was used contantly to set the mood.
"Far from Heaven"
"Written on the Wind"
| Academy Awards, USA | |||
| Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Nominated | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role Julianne Moore |
| Best Cinematography Edward Lachman | |||
| Best Music, Original Score Elmer Bernstein | |||
| Best Writing, Original Screenplay Todd Haynes | |||
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