June 07, 2003
Far From Heaven
It would have been easy for this film to step over the line from homage into parody, but Todd Haynes and his production designers and cinematographer managed to maintain the tone of flawed innocence intact. Set in 1950s Connecticut, the film tells the story of an outwardly "perfect" family whose private life is fatally flawed. Julianne Moore plays the model housewife, Dennis Quaid her advertising executive husband. They each fail to fit with the 50's behavioral ideal in their inmost selves.
The film is shot in the style of the 1950s melodramas of Douglas Sirk and it's great fun to look at for its deep saturated colors and contrasts and for the creative shooting angles used (I suspect) partly to communicate tone, but partly also to exclude anachronistic scenery.
Nothing particularly exciting on the DVD (it has a making-of, anatomy of a scene, director commentary, etc. etc.)
Verdict: 3 stars (out of 4)
Posted by jeffy at June 7, 2003 01:58 PM