Far From Heaven
Julian Moore plays 50s housewife Cathy who one day
stumbles upon her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) having
an affair with another man. Her once perfect life is turned
upside-down and she seeks comfort with her African-American gardener, Raymond, played by Dennis Haysbert. This friendship is frowned upon by the whole town and soon the pair fall victim to racial abuse. While Cathy struggles to keep their relationship afloat her husband goes to a psychiatrist who he thinks can help rid him of his homosexual feelings. The director does a great job of recreating the 50s, down to every little detail. The acting is wonderful and the cinematography is beautiful. There are problems though, for instance, we never really manage to get close to any of the characters, thus leaving us a little alienated from the story. We never truly know what Cathy is thinking as half the time she is lying to everyone around her and her mysterious husband, Frank, is a highly unlikable character and the two seem very mismatched. Raymond, on the other hand, seems to be the most honest character and the one you will sympathise with most, unfortunately his relationship with Cathy could have been further explored and much more exciting. The whole film seems to be holding back, it could have been much more dramatic but instead plays it safe and at times, delivers little. Aesthetically pleasing but lacking substance, there is a great story in here somewhere, it just seems like we don't get to see all of it.
Rating- 6/10 |
