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| Far From Heaven |
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 (10/10)
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Runtime: 108 |
| Public Rating: 7.14 (22 votes) |
Director: Todd Haynes |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Drama |
Year: 2002 |
| Writer(s): Todd Haynes |
| Reviewed by: Le Apprenti |
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Meet Mrs. Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore). She is a happily married mother of 2 adorable children. Her house is a lovely homestead, complete with a beautiful garden and an African-American maid. Cathy is a full-time homemaker while her husband brings home the income. All in all, she epitomizes the perfect picture of a middle-class wife and mother who is surrounded by warmth and friendliness, lacking for nothing. After all, this is the 1950’s. Anyone can attain such wealth and prosperity… but only if that person is white.
From the moment Cathy befriends the African-American gardener Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert), racist sentiments are vividly fleshed out. Being genuinely kind everyone regardless of skin color, she does not realize the consequences her actions have on a society that is racially prejudiced. She becomes the object of malicious gossips and hateful stares by the white community. Raymond, though an intelligent man with a successful business career, is perceived as no more than a man of unacceptable color and therefore cannot partake in the lifestyle of the white and wealthy. He is verbally threatened for making physical contact with a white woman. The bigotry sentiments are not only peculiar to whites. His own colored community does not take kindly to his interracial affairs.
For a woman’s journey of self-discovery, there is little of positive note to discover. Racism is not all that Cathy has to deal with. Her picture perfect marriage is scarred by her husband’s homosexual tendencies. Unfortunately, therapy does not provide a permanent cure to his ‘sickness’. His relapse has severe ramifications, leading to the annulment of their marriage and his new life with another man. At the same time, her new friend Raymond, whom she is able to confide with during her time of distress, wants little to do with her fearing that the nature of their friendship would further jeopardize the well-being of his young daughter. As it turns out, best friend Eleanor Fine (Patricia Clarkson), like the entire white community, offers no support. She develops cold feet when Cathy finally tells her the truth, and mentions about her husband. Sadly, it is a poignant ending of heartbreaks for Cathy. In a way, it is wonderful touch. The alternative closing could have been Cathy and Raymond in each other arms and smooching deeply, which would be cheap and ridiculous.
Far From Heaven is not for the faint of heart or the frail of mind. There is no question that director Todd Haynes intends first to capture the essence (and the image) of movies made in the 50’s, if not more specifically Douglas Sirk’s “women movies”. From there, Haynes goes on to show the unreal sweetness that is the standard fare of such movies disappear when a different (skin) color is introduced. Unlike those groups of films, he emphasizes on the one ugly issue prevalent in the 50’s but was largely ignored when life became cinematic art. Haynes knows exactly how he wants it to be told visually and how the characters’ interactions, spoken and visual, communicate it on the screen.
Although racism had been portrayed in movies of that period, it never had a spotlight of the magnitude that Haynes has presented. Through excellent cinematography, every scene of racial bigotry is so emotionally charged such that one cannot look at it without being angry, repulsed or utterly disgusted. Racist sentiments and behaviors are heavily peppered wherever possible, from the expressions of revulsion on the subject of racial integration to the evacuation of hotel guests from a swimming pool after a black kid steps into it. To make it extra volatile, Raymond’s daughter Sarah is attacked by a few white kids because of her father’s involvement, however casual, with a white woman. There is no attempt at political correctness, as illustrated by the use of the n-word by the Caucasian characters. True to the 50’s, homosexuality is treated as a taboo. No one talks about it except in secret. It is not treated as a social ill like interracial relationships.
The cast deserves much credit. Moore, as Cathy, plays up the 50’s style movie housewife amicably, with a smooth transition from that persona to a distraught divorcee. She is picture perfect. Haysbert’s performance is excellent on a two-fold level. He accurately captures the demeanor of an African-American man living in the 50’s while at the same time showing the individuality of his character – a strong personality and optimistic spirit that Cathy admires. As Cathy’s painfully flawed husband Frank is Dennis Quaid. He paints out Frank’s torments vividly, expressing the withdrawal symptoms of homosexual abstinence in venting, spurs of spousal abuse, heavy drinking and lack of love towards Cathy. Clarkson’s not-so-fine Eleonor Fine is at times pretentious and subsequently unlikable. She sees herself as a woman of ‘upright’ standing who, despite her claims to offer Cathy her support, does not want to be involved in unacceptable behavior. In this case, it is condoning Cathy’s interracial friendship. Celia Weston’s brief role as magazine editor Mona Lauder is a fiery spark that ignites the bigotry. Viola Davis and Jordan Puryear provide good supporting roles as Whitaker housemaid Sybil and Sarah respectively. Puryear is fantastic in the tensed moment where she is the target of a bigotry assault.
On a social standpoint, Far From Heaven’s very displeasing presentation of racism may be a major deterrence to moviegoers. It is also not exactly the kind of motivational movie that encourages girls to pursue their dreams. But on a filmmaking standpoint, it is a crowning achievement, a heavenly marriage of solid performances, stylish direction and great storytelling. Its sends a very strong moral: Not every good deed has its own reward, some of them have a price.
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