Far From Heaven Review
by Rose 'Bams' Cooper (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)January 3rd, 2003
'3BlackChicks Review...'
FAR FROM HEAVEN (2002)
Rated PG-13; running time 107 minutes
Studio: Focus Features
Genre: Drama
Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.farfromheavenmovie.com/
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0297884
Music by: Elmer Bernstein
Written by: Todd Haynes
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Cast: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis, Bette Henritze, Ryan Ward, Lindsay Andretta, Jordan Puryear, Celia Weston, Stevie Ray Dallimore, James Rebhorn
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/2002reviews/bamsheaven.html
I have the feeling that discussion about FAR FROM HEAVEN will take on the epic proportions that MONSTER'S BALL did last year on the 3BC "Viewer Voices" webboard, developing a life of its own. I cannot wait. FAR FROM HEAVEN is certainly a worthy candidate for such a drawn-out discussion.
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
Hartford, Connecticut in the 50s: a Northern town where all is sunshine and daisies, and life is, generally, Good. The Liberal White Thinkers seem to co-exist peacefully with those few Negroes they come in contact with...in their kitchens and tending their gardens...and with the occasional [hushed tones] quaintly homosexual artists that pop up. But all in all, 1950's Hartford was a place where the community was tightly-knit, the neighbors all knew each other, and you could always depend on your friends to Be There for you. In this idyllic setting, Frank and Cathy Whittaker - "Mr. and Mrs. Magnatech" - seem to be The Perfect Couple, with The Perfect Son and Daughter, The Perfect Job, The Perfect Home, The Perfect Friends, and The Perfectly Content Negroes working for them.
But all is not as it appears in Sleepytown, USA, after all. Frank (Dennis Quaid) isn't quite the man that Cathy (Julianne Moore) thought he was. Their children David (Ryan Ward) and Janice (Lindsay Andretta) are treated like little more than interruptions to Mom & Pop's perfect ending to a perfect day. Frank is holding on to his job by the same very thin thread that Cathy is holding on to the homestead. Frank and Cathy friends Eleanor (Patricia Clarkson), Dick (Stevie Ray Dallimore), and Mona (Celia Weston) are more of the "fairweather" variety. And the Whittaker's Negroes - maid Sybil (Viola Davis) and gardener Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert) - are not so Content after all; especially Raymond, who seeks something from Cathy that might be more than either of them can handle.
THE UPSHOT
The best way to view FAR FROM HEAVEN is to think of it on par with another homage to Life In The 1950's - PLEASANTVILLE - but with a much darker twist.
FAR FROM HEAVEN is proof positive of the saying, "looks can be deceiving" - because at first glance, HEAVEN looks to be so incredibly naive and unrealistic about Real Life, that some people might be initially turned off. But look again - and you'll notice how bloody brilliant this movie is, for just that thing. The characters, the sets, the dripping colors, stilted dialogue, thick, rich music, even the spot-on opening and closing titles...all of it seemed meticulously honed to approximate the look and feel of all those old-time 1950's movies you see on TV at 3am when "nothing's on". You know; those movies where Mom and Pop, their son Junior and daughter Sally all sit around chatting about how Swell Life Is! and gee Pop, can I go to the soda fountain? Sure, Junior! Isn't Life just Swell?
Yes, the world in which FAR FROM HEAVEN exists, is *supposed* to look and feel unrealistic (in the hindsight that folks living in These Modern Times could only describe as "unrealistic"). Through director Todd Haynes skillful hands, we're shown a skewed vision of those times that allows the viewer to understand the dis-ease of the issues that plague Frank, Cathy, and Raymond, much better than we would if this movie was just another "set in the 50s" flick with a modern sensibility. Haynes and company lets us see that time the way we've always seen it - but without the veil of tidy perfection that many movies made during those times, seemed to wear.
That alone would have been enough for FAR FROM HEAVEN to have earned the top spot on my Best Of 2002 list. But Haynes' mad skillz as a director weren't all that elevated this movie to the top of the 2002 list for me. Like my second choice, ANTWONE FISHER, HEAVEN was populated with powerful performances by its leads and supporting cast. Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid rock the house with powerhouse character studies, though unfortunately, many people will misinterpret Moore's acting, instead of seeing it in the proper light. Which is too bad - because she and Patricia Clarkston had the 1950's housewife patois down *cold*. Check out any number of cheesy 50s movies, and see if you don't agree.
Which leads me to Dennis Haysbert. I've long liked him as an actor (starting with an old Guilty Pleasure of mine, MAJOR LEAGUE - which reminds me: I really wish he'd go bald and bearded again. But I digress.), and he acquits himself well in HEAVEN; he's definitely worthy of the pre-awards buzz I've heard about his performance here. But I have an Issue with his character, that makes me hesitate on gushing with praise for him - or perhaps more correctly, for Haysbert's and Haynes' vision of Raymond Deagan.
THE "BLACK FACTOR" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]
(WARNING: **more spoilers contained below**)
I know, I know; I started this review out by forgiving the naivetÈ of most of the characters, then took back my forgiveness with regards to the main Black character. How Racist of me.
But let us be real for a second: there is no way on God's Green Earth that a Black man Raymond Deagan's age could've been *that* naive, I don't care how idyllic your vision of the 1950s. Face it: Whites could be blissfully unawares of racial issues, strife, and the taboos of Whites and Blacks intermingling (or at least, pretend to be). Blacks back then [ahem] simply couldn't *afford* such a lack of awareness. So while I can easily believe that Cathy Whittaker could not remember Her Place In Society, I can't believe for one moment that the same could be said for her dutiful gardener. A Black man simply couldn't have made it to a mature age with the blinders that Deagan wore, in place. "Hands off, nigra" would just be the start; more like, "it's time for a lynchin'!". Yes, even here in the North.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
Simply stated: FAR FROM HEAVEN is the best movie of 2002.
FAR FROM HEAVEN rating: greenlight
Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
EMAIL: [email protected]
http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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