Film/Video/TV Annotations
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Far From Heaven |
| Medium | Film |
| Keywords | Art of Medicine, Children, Empathy, Family Relationships, Freedom, Grief, Human Worth, Individuality, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Issues, Loneliness, Love, Marital Discord, Ordinary Life, Psychiatry, Racism, Sexuality, Society, Suffering, Survival |
| Summary | Set in the 1950s Eisenhower era, this film creates an enlarged snapshot of a model suburban household in Connecticut as well as a companion negative of two suppressed social issues lurking beneath the painfully smooth surface. In his effort to portray dominant values, as well as the melodramatic look and feel of the period, Director Hayes appropriates visual effects and music associated with fifties films by Douglas Sirk such as "All That Heaven Allows" with Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. Colors are too vivid; music heavily underlines emotional elements; and stylistically designed sets reflect superficial ideals. Too perfect. Moving from the margins and into the center two disruptive shadows gradually emerge, one dealing with race, the other with homosexuality. In the years preceding racial protests and riots and in a time when few could imagine public conversation about sexual orientations, use of condoms, or AIDS, the story reveals unspeakable abuses, intolerances, and injustices that have subsequently been addressed but not resolved. |
| Commentary | The film is useful in small group seminars to discuss changing social patterns and behaviors. In spite of assumptions about changed attitudes, more students than might be expected have difficulty dealing with homosexuality. |
| Director | Todd Haynes |
| Leading Actors | Dennis Haysbert, Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid |
| Studio | Clear Blue Sky Productions |
| Year | 2002 |
| Color/BW | Color |
| Running Time | 107 minutes |
| Video Source | Focus |
| Miscellaneous | Todd Haynes wrote the original screenplay, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Julianne Moore was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress in a leading role. |
| Annotated by | Nixon, Lois LaCivita |
| Date of Entry | 05/25/03 |
| Last Revised | 05/15/06 |