Something of a labour of love for writer/director Todd Haynes this, his third feature, revisits the women's films of the fifties and reproduces in lavish detail the aesthetics, mores and hypocrisies of the era for all to see. Essentially an enthusiastic homage to the melodramas of Douglas Sirk and in particular All That Heaven Allows, which serves as a template for one of the plot threads, Far From Heaven tackles the prejudices of homophobia and racism with a frankness that Sirk's own work could never wholly achieve. Perhaps for this alone Far From Heaven is the greatest film Douglas Sirk never made.

The plot concerns Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore), a model mother and wife to Frank (Dennis Quaid) an executive in a television manufacture company. Together they have two children - a boy and a girl, as well as a maid and a gardener, both black. Their lives move at a slow pace punctuated by trivial gatherings and coffee afternoons until Cathy's life is shattered when she catches her Frank in a passionate clinch with another man. Frank books himself into therapy so he can deal with his sexual identity while Cathy tries to smooth things over on the homefront by balancing her husband's needs with her many social commitments. At the same time arrives Raymond on the scene as the new gardener to the Whitakers. Widowed, educated but black he shows himself to be an ample alternative to Frank as he falls further into infamy but will society at large permit Cathy and Raymond to explore their feelings?

Haynes treats both the downfall of a marriage and the racism of the times (on both sides of the black/white divide) with sensitivity and is careful not to make judgments on individuals, more on the prevailing wisdom of the times. Quaid's character is never the villain nor is Haysbert's the hero and life does not so much get better as go on for all concerned. Divorced, gay or black everyone has their own cross to bear and sympathies are aroused for each of our protagonists, victims of a time not ready for difference or individualism.

With Far From Heaven Haynes has shunned the dark avenue of the chick flick and recreated rather than reinvented the genre of the women's film, immersing the audience in the times and the feel of a fifties movie right down to the end credits. Vivid colour, canted angles and reaction shots all help to create a sense of authenticity all too lacking in other similarly set pieces. 'Far From Heaven' also separates itself from more modern depictions of women in film by keeping its focus on its story of a woman finding her way in a (white) man's world. It is a premise that is stuck to with dignity and sincerity, avoiding hysterics and unashamedly showing the triviality of lives rounded by gossip rather than any genuine motivation to better the world around them.

As the central character Moore remains wide-eyed and tragically optimistic as one by one the supports of her domestic and personal lives are taken from her, yet her character remains hopeful and even learns a measure of independence in the end.
A well-rounded work in every respect Far From Heaven is a film with appeal beyond the confines of the genre that spawned it. Intelligent, honest and unpretentious it really makes you wonder why they don't make 'em like this anymore.

Niall Kitson