Far from Heaven
ITV, photos: Charles Fearn
Far from Heaven, USA, 2002
Director/Writer: Todd Haynes
Cast: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis
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Todd Haynes' Oscar-nominated drama stars Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid as Cathy and Frank Whitaker, the perfect 50s suburban couple in mid-town America, he in a successful job, she a happy housewife with two children. But when she discovers his secret desires, she turns for friendship and solace to their black gardener Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert). But their friendship starts a vicious circle of gossip that threatens to expose all her secrets.
Haynes' film is an unashamed homage to Douglas Sirk's films, specifically All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life , but marries modern sensibilities with 50s values. Frank's secret is that he is gay, but he hides it from Cathy and the world and is only found out when she catches him with another man. He describes his "problem" as "despicable... [I'm] going to lick this problem". Similarly, Cathy's growing relationship with Raymond causes heads to turn and tongues to wag even though it is entirely innocent, she turning to him for support, he prepared to offer it. It is fascinating to see how their relationship presages the growing civil rights movement while Frank's love affair remains a matter of furtive meetings in seedy motel rooms.
But if the plot of the film and the stand-out performances of the three leads make it a gripping, realistic slice of 50s American society, this is possibly outshone by the cinematography. Oscar-nominated lensman Ed Lachman used the same crane shots Sirk favoured together with lighting and filters that create, as Haynes said, "a beautifully sophisticated palette of warm and cool colours interacting... and we basically sat for days and plotted the film scene by scene, allotting roles to the colours." Together with Elmer Bernstein's score, this is a film that satisfies all the senses as much as the brain.
