Todd Haynes‘ ‘Far from Heaven‘ (2002) is a bold and highly successful stylistic and thematic exercise. From the beginning of the film, from the opening credits, you have the impression as a viewer that you are watching an American film from the 50s that is either very well preserved or excellently restored. There were several sources of inspiration, but the main one is the social melodrama ‘All the Heaven Allows’ directed in 1955 by Douglas Sink. That film, which starred Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, tackled one of the moral taboos of the era – relationships between mature women and much younger men. However, Todd Haynes, who is also the author of the screenplay, uses the style of narration and filming of that period to address two other taboos of the society of the 1950s, which American cinema had not yet dared to attack by that time: interracial love affairs and homosexual relationships. Not only does Haynes bring both themes into the same story, he does more – he brings them into the same marriage. He does not, however, do so from the perspective of the 45 years that have passed since the events described in the film, nor does he introduce any lessons learned from the civil rights revolution of the ’60s or the revolution of acceptance of homosexuality that would take place about a decade later. He films as if he were a 1950s director who dared approach the themes. The authenticity effect is overwhelming.
The story begins in the fall of 1957 and takes place in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. The couple Frank and Cathy Whitaker seem like model American success story in that decade of economic prosperity after World War II. Frank works as head of advertising at a prosperous firm and earns well enough to have a nice house with maids and for Cathy to be able to stay at home and devote her time to raising her two children and socializing with other women of the same bed well-off social. Behind the appearances, however, a secret is hidden. Frank is gay and he has a tough time hiding his preferences, starts risking visits to gay bars and even has an affair at work. The marriage goes into crisis when Cathy discovers the situation and Franl decides to resort to a ‘treatment’ to ‘fix’ what was still considered an illness at the time. The ‘treatment’ doesn’t quite work, Frank is confused and becomes violent. The desperate Cathy finds support and platonic solace in her friendship with Raymond, a widowed African-American gardener and father of a little girl. Inter-racial relations, even at social level, are a taboo at least as unaccepted by the mentality of those times as gay relations and a much more visible one. Both communities in the city – that of the whites and that of the blacks – reject them. Segregation is not only legal (laws that would change in the next decade), but also or especially in the mentality. Although Cathy and Raymond had committed no infidelity, the very fact that they were meeting and socializing in public condemns them to ostracism. Under this pressure of prejudice, neither the marriage nor the bond forged against the conventions have much chance of survival.
Todd Haynes carefully studied and brought back to work some of the tools in the arsenal of filmmakers from the decade in which the story takes place. To faithfully recreate the film colors of the era, Haynes, along with his faithful collaborator, cinematographer Edward Lachman, used the film and lighting from the studios of the period. The action begins in autumn and the foliage colors are combined with the red and green of the ladies’ dresses for an idyllic symphony of colors. As we progress through the story, the more garish colors and the darker corners of the city appear. The chill of winter is interrupted only by the heroes’ New Year’s vacation filmed under the warm Florida sun. In the ending, which takes place in the spring, flower buds appear on the trees, but the future is uncertain. For the film’s soundtrack, Haynes chose to collaborate with Elmer Bernstein, a composer with half a century of experience who had already been active writing film music during the period the story takes place. It would be his last collaboration on a feature film. The role of Cathy Whitaker is played by Julianne Moore. This is, I think, one of the best roles of her career, a complex role of a woman whose world collapses under the pressure of the events and prejudices around her, a woman who tries to cope with dignity with the situation and save her family while keeping her own integrity and who pays a huge price for this. Unfortunately, the roles of the two men in Cathy’s life are less well-defined, although each represents a complex and equally interesting case. Dennis Quaid and Dennis Haysbert both act well, but I was left with the impression that their two characters are not sufficiently explored. The final is far from a happy ending. For each of the three heroes, the fight is just beginning.