"Far From Heaven"The 1950's in America have come to represent a time when "all was well" withthe country and its people. The post-war middle class generation was settled intosuburbia. The mother was home tending to the house and children, and the father was the..{strong, responsible breadwinner. Children actually obeyed their parents! This is thepicture that I have always had of that time period. Perhaps reruns of TV shows likev" "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" ingrained this sort of view. Director andscreenwriter, Todd Haynes, comes along and completely strips away that facade of "all iswell". His collaboration with his cinematographer and musical composer creates a work vthat strips away the layers and reveals the souls of three people and a community. Thetruth turns out to be very far removed from the bland, contented, happy life that we first see on the screen. Haynes's film, "Far from Heaven" was released in the US in 2002.~\. Julianne Moore is Cathy Whitaker, Dennis Quaid is her husband, Frank. Dennis Haysbert",V is the other main cast member, Raymond Deagan.The film zeros in on a well-to-do community in Hartford around 1958. CathyWhitaker is the epitome of the perfect homemaker, mother and wife. She is very wellliked and admired in her community. She is the understanding and loving wife of FrankI Whitaker, a very successful businessman who deals with sales and marketing. She is the ~ ~ ~mother of two children. Cathy seems to juggle all her roles effortlessly. Frank appears to / ¥~ be the hardworking corporate man, who doesn't seem to have a lot of time for his wife orfamily, but then everyone appears to understand that he is "very busy." Raymond is thecollege-educated son of their "colored" gardener. He takes over his deceased father'swork, and also owns and runs a small garden ShO£ lives of all three main characterschange abruptly when Cathy accidentally discovers that her husband is homosexual.Cathy i!2~!ecognizes that her life with Frank has been an illusion of happiness. Shebegins to see the contradictions within her circle of friends. She turns to an outsider, Raymond, to develop a caring relationship that also has an undercurrent of sexualtension. After Frank admits that he cannot go on living a lie because he has truly fallenin love for the first tim~ith another man~athy's life begins to change dramatically.She seems to emerge from the cocoon that was her world, and begins to see the realworld that surrounds her--a world full of hypocrisy, racism, and plain old meanness. ~Raymond is the center o@onging for love, for physical fulfillment, and for a newfreedom. Yet, this relationship that could truly free her is not really possible in the place-- . ~i= :-and time that she inhabits.It is this particular place and time--1950s Arnerica-- that this film exposes to ourscrutiny. The film is a love story that is tender and very fragile in a repressive setting that- -makes it all the more moving for the viewer. I believe that Haynes wants less to entertain~:>c ~han to move the viewer to go beyond a simple sympathy for Cathy, Raymond, and~ t Frank. He wants the viewer to see how a society's attitudes, including racial and sexual r ~~ taboos can harm and hurt the individuals right to a fulfilling life.~ 'O~)? Because the time and place is an essential component of the storyline, one of themost successful aspects of this film is the director's ability to bring to life the 1950's .,;setting of this story. Everything is perfectly d~iled. The clothing and hairstyles of thewomen --Cathy's huge circular skirted dresses, her perfect little hats--evoke an era andIyet seem not to be "costumes". The houses are full of the furniture that was so specific tothat time--the sweeping, long couches, the Danish Modern tables and chairs- and thatgave an overall feeling of "togetherness", but not of warmth. The use of the Hartfordcommunity as the setting also is important. The town is lovely in the aut~ with all the I' IVcolorful leaves and the first shot of the film evokes that feeling of idyllic beauty. The (ifUviewer almost expects to see that the movie was made in 1957. This setting is only the ~ 7top layer of this film. Haynes wants us to realize later on in the movie that the beauty we /""VV "1,saw concealed a lot that was not so beautiful in this community.Along with the setting of the film, the musical score is also very reminiscent ofthe 1950's. It sounds like music that accompanied a lot of melodramas, love stories of the /'50's era of films. The music evokes the same sense of recognition that the style of hairand clothing produced. It also carries the plot along on its notes. The music tells us what to expect.Perhaps the stronge~me in the film deals with a type of spiritualimprisoe/ent that all three main characters face. Cathy is imprisoned at first by her roleas the perfect wife to a man who cannot be a real husband, and later she is imprisoned by the racism in society that will not allow Pito go with the man she loves. Frank isimprisoned by his self-loathing at first because he sees himself as a diseased man, and later because societY'~xual taboos will not let him live openly and honestly. Raymondis imprisoned by both the white and black society's racism and must choose between the woman he loves and a life of safety and stability for his beloved daughter.The acting in this film is one of its greatest strengths. Julianne Moore brings/ Cathy to life. She is the unflappable, perfectly dressed community leader who has a way with everyone in every situation. She is perfect in everything she does, from the table(settings to the cocktails, yet there is an air of fragility and almost naivete. She assumesthe best in everyone. Moore's portrayal moves beautifully from a woman living a fairytale life, to a woman who sees her world shatter. Her hop~~~that the marriagecan be saved is so sad to see, because we do see it in her eyes. The tightness that Cathyhas to maintain with her family and friends dissolves when she is with Raymond.