Far from Heaven

Starring:Julianne Moore, Dennis Haysbert
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This uniquely beautiful film--from one of the smartest and most idiosyncratic of contemporary directors, Todd Haynes (Safe, Velvet Goldmine)--takes the lush 1950s visual style of so-called women's pictures (particularly those of Douglas Sirk, director of Imitation of Life and Magnificent Obsession) to tell a story that mixes both sexual and racial prejudice. Julianne Moore, an amazing fusion of vulnerability and will power, plays a housewife whose husband (Dennis Quaid) has a secret gay life. When she finds solace in the company of a black gardener (Dennis Haysbert), rumors and peer pressure destroy any chance she has at happiness. It's astonishing how a movie with such a stylized veneer can be so emotionally compelling; the cast and filmmakers have such an impeccable command of the look and feel of the genre that every moment is simultaneously artificial and deeply felt. Far from Heaven is ingenious and completely engrossing. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Julianne Moore is excellent........2007-02-10

Excellent acting, I loved Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid. You could feel how the beginning of what freedoms and liberties we take for granted nowadays in our culture were started by people being willing to be honest about their feelings. Homosexuality, interracial relationships, all these taboo subjects that today we talk about openly in many forms.

The costume design is exquisite, Julianne Moore is a lovely depiction of the perfect 50's housewife, including her curiosity and caretaker demeanor. Also I enjoyed the lighting in this movie, as it depicts the time authentically.

Good Acting..Weak Story.......2007-01-10

A relevant look at the Eisenhower fifties of superficial social life in the straight jacket of taboos. The confrontations of sex and race don't find resolution in anything other than resignation to the status quo and so while the ending is plausible (entirely so) you're left wishing that the time invested in watching the film gave you something much more. I suggest renting rather than purchasing as I doubt you'll want to add it to your permanent collection.

Sheer brilliance..........2006-12-11

There are so many things I want to say about this movie, but I'm not sure how I should say it. I'll start I guess with the film itself, a film that I decided to see about a year ago but have not had the chance or the persistence to go ahead with it until last night. I've read an article, about six months ago, likening this film to `Brokeback Mountain' and the article is really what set my determination over the edge. `Brokeback Mountain' to me is one of the greatest and most intelligent films I've ever seen and so with that in mind my mind was set in seeing this film as well. Well truth be told `Brokeback' this is not, but this film truly resonates at a high level with the viewer if they allow it. This to me would be the flip side of `Brokeback', the story of the scorned wife not the confused husband. Cathy Whitaker (Moore) is living the perfect life, and this life is immediately fed to us within the first few minutes of the film where the local newspaper is doing an article on her. She has the perfect house, children husband and she seems genuinely happy, that is all until she discovers her husband's dark secret.

Dennis Quaid is one of the reasons this movie is so wonderful for he finally proves what I've suspected all along, this guy can really freaking act. His portrayal of the confused Frank Whitaker is so emotionally charged and heart breaking that I'm utterly astonished it didn't garner him at least an Oscar nomination (while in my humble opinion he should have won). After Cathy comes upon her husband in the arms of another man they are forced to face the facts, and so in an attempt to save his marriage and his family Frank agrees to see a doctor in an effort to `cure' him of his tendencies. What makes this film for me was the genuine sincerity in Quaid's performance. Every outburst, every tear, every word and or action was completely surreal and convincing. I was just truly blown away by the power in his performance.

In the wake of this new development in the Whitaker household Cathy begins to take solace in the form of her new gardener Raymond Deagan (Haysbert) who extends to Cathy the kind of genuine kindness she's lacking from everyone else around her. While never disclosing her family's dark new nightmare she does unload some of her surface feelings to her new found friend, but this friendship also ends up being more of a malediction when the community starts to frown down upon her choice of associates. You see, Raymond is black and in this 50's community, well a white woman just doesn't spend that much alone time with a black man. With her friends as well as her husband turning on her she ends her relationship with Raymond, which ends up being the hardest mistake she'll ever have to live with, and continues to work on her family. I won't give away the outcome of this film but I'm sure it's one that we all saw coming.

Another thing that this film helped me to see was what all this Julianne Moore hype was all about. I've actually never been on her bandwagon, having really only seen performances I've felt were good at best, but her performance here was stunning and perfectly poised and on point. She captured the essence of the 50's housewife to perfection and carried so much expression and weight in her face alone. I did notice something though, and I just want to throw this out there, but to me Julianne's performance really shined when she was interacting with her brilliant supporting cast, her best scenes stand where she was bouncing off of Quaid's intensity or Haysbert's sincerity or even Clarkson's wit and charm. On her own I felt that Moore's performance wasn't quite as strong. Don't get me wrong, she still was outstanding, but I felt her performance would get a face lift every time someone else occupied the screen alongside her.

I will make a quick note as well in regards to Todd Haynes brilliant directing here. He truly captures the era that was the 1950's, from the look, the feel as well as the performances he drew out from his entire cast. He was so effective that throughout the first ten minutes or so I could almost swear I was watching an episode of `Leave it to Beaver', from the way the children spoke to their mother to the way the family interacted in general, is was all so `otherworldly' as some have said yet all the more real because of that. I was utterly impressed with every passing frame. Very well done indeed.

So in closing I wanted to address that this film does indeed touch upon the prejudices we all see even today, whether they be sexual or racial, but to me this film is more about the loneliness one faces when everything he or she believed in comes crashing down. The film for the most part focuses on Cathy and her dilemma as her supposed perfect life is destroyed, but in scenes like Franks final breakdown we can really see that this is not affecting him in a good way either. He doesn't want to tear his family apart; he just doesn't know how to say no to what he desires. He knows that he'll never be truly happy if he ignores it. It's a no win situation for someone is going to walk away hurt. While Frank may in the short of things look like a horrible person or in any instance the villain of this story he is in fact just another victim in this game we all call our lives. Thanks in a large part to Quaid's riveting performance `Far From Heaven' will be remembered, no not as the best film of 2002 but certainly as one of the most moving.

Desires of the heart. . ........2006-09-26

Far from Heaven sets a wonderful serene mood with its quiet autumnal vistas, echoed by the primarily orange and green color scheme. Everything is clean and new in Hartford Connecticut during the late 1950's; the cars--even the dark alleys. Cathy played by the incandescent Julianne Moore, is the perfect hostess, housewife and mother. Her husband, played by a wiry, edgy Dennis Quaid is the perfect father and successful businessman. Their gardener, Deagan, played by Dennis Haysbert, is squeaky clean as well, always wearing brand new clothes even though he just came out of the garden.

Civil rights issues are obliquely referred to as a distant problem occurring in other towns. Yet Cathy and her husband are both touched by passion that violates the expectations of small town 1950's society. When they cross the line, violence is threatened. Those who cross the line are firmly put in their place or shunned.

This movie makes the point that the serene beauty of this time is achieved at cost of loss of awareness and passion. The double life that must be lived by those who have longings for something other than the mainstream is hinted at by the movie marquee that advertises "The Three Faces of Eve".

This film is beautiful and passionate with a wonderful attention to detail. The flamboyant ultra-feminine clothing of the women and the brilliantly painted rooms and cars create a nostalgic mood that is contrasted by emotional tone of frustration and lonely despair. The autumn leaves in every scene hint at the death of this rigid patriarchal culture that oppressed minorities, women and children and sublimated all feeling in order to present an orderly, conformist appearance. A wonderful moody piece with brilliant acting. Highly recommended!

Far From Heaven, it's not!.......2006-08-10

This is a great movie, from all aspects. The acting, set design, music, dialogue, etc. It is highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Julianne Moore is excellent.
Good Acting..Weak Story
Sheer brilliance...
Desires of the heart. . .
Far From Heaven, it's not!

Far from Heaven
Starring: Julianne Moore , Dennis Quaid , Dennis Haysbert , Patricia Clarkson , and Viola Davis
Director: Todd Haynes
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Hours
In the Bedroom
All That Heaven Allows - Criterion Collection
Safe
Gosford Park

ASIN: B00008HE45

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Julianne Moore is excellent........2007-02-10

Good Acting..Weak Story.......2007-01-10

Sheer brilliance..........2006-12-11

Desires of the heart. . ........2006-09-26

Far From Heaven, it's not!.......2006-08-10

This is a great movie, from all aspects. The acting, set design, music, dialogue, etc. It is highly recommended.

Charlie Rose with Daniel Liebskind; Dennis Quaid (January 17, 2003)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Daniel Liebskind; Dennis Quaid (January 17, 2003)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

Description

First, a conversation with architect Daniel Liebskind about presenting his design for the World Trade Center memorial to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Then, actor Dennis Quaid talks about his performance in the film Far From Heaven and previous roles.

Average customer rating:

Julianne Moore is excellent.
Good Acting..Weak Story
Sheer brilliance...
Desires of the heart. . .
Far From Heaven, it's not!

Far from Heaven [Region 2]
Starring: Julianne Moore , Dennis Quaid , Dennis Haysbert , Patricia Clarkson , and Viola Davis
Director: Todd Haynes
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Hours
In the Bedroom
All That Heaven Allows - Criterion Collection
Safe
Gosford Park

ASIN: B0000C88MR

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Julianne Moore is excellent........2007-02-10

Good Acting..Weak Story.......2007-01-10

Sheer brilliance..........2006-12-11

Desires of the heart. . ........2006-09-26

Far From Heaven, it's not!.......2006-08-10

This is a great movie, from all aspects. The acting, set design, music, dialogue, etc. It is highly recommended.

Charlie Rose with Julianne Moore; Nigella Lawson (December 20, 2002)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Julianne Moore; Nigella Lawson (December 20, 2002)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

Description

Actress Julianne Moore discusses her career and her two most recent roles in The Hours and Far From Heaven, both of which have received much critical acclaim. Moore has been nominated for Oscars for her role in both films. Then, an interview with culinary television personality Nigella Lawson about her new book, Nigella Bites.

Charlie Rose with Fouad Ajami; Julianne Moore (November 11, 2002)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Fouad Ajami; Julianne Moore (November 11, 2002)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

Description

Fouad Ajami, contributing editor for US News & World Report, director of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University and consultant for CBS news, offers his take on the nature of Iraq's radicalism and the appropriate US policy. Then, actress Julianne Moore discusses her career and her two most recent roles in The Hours and Far From Heaven.

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