tlavideo.com

Review

Far from Heaven - Todd Haynes (Poison) new film is an extraordinary 50s melodrama about a gay married man (Dennis Quaid), his wife (Julianne Moore) and her friendship with her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert). Writer/director Todd Haynes has reached a peak of artistic perfection with Far from Heaven. From the incredible casting to the cinematography by Edward Lachman to the soaring melodramatic music by Elmer Bernstein to the spectacular sets and costumes, this film just is 1957 - with one huge difference, there is a gay character. The film is based loosely on Douglas Sirk's All that Heaven Allows (linked in the related products field), a melodrama that focused on a relationship between a widowed suburban housewife (Jane Wyman) and her hunky gardener (Rock Hudson). The adaptation is more homage than film remake - it's really quite extraordinary to see both films. The three lead actors, are superb in difficult roles that require lots of body language and facial expressions to convey what couldn't be said in the fifties. The lush sets are perfection, it is as if one is entering the fifties. Elmer Bernstein's score is one of the best we've heard, emotional and soaring music that is quite fitting for the film.

Scott Cranin

All that Heaven Allows - Hudson, Wyman and director Sirk all reunited from their 1954 success Magnificent Obsession for this involving May-December melodrama. Wyman plays a middle-aged widow who begins a romance with younger gardener Hudson. True to 1950s form, the tongues start wagging. Good performances, a compelling story and typically lush direction from Sirk make this quite enjoyable.

David Bleiler