Michael Reuben
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 1998
- Messages
- 21,763
- Real Name
- Michael Reuben
I saw Far From Heaven last weekend, but I've been too busy to write a review. Moore, Quaid and Haysbert are extraordinary -- all three deserve Oscar nominations -- and Patricia Clarkson has a wickedly good time playing Moore's best friend. The movie is gorgeous to look at, and the Elmer Bernstein score suits the "period" feel without sounding entirely retro.
It's very easy to laugh at many things in the movie that feel out of date (the audience I saw it with couldn't restrain themselves). But by stylizing this lost 50s world with a style of movie-making that feels equally antique, Haynes somehow manages to bring it back to life. The movie is a time capsule, but it's one that pulses with barely-contained emotional turmoil. A lot of contemporary viewers won't get this film; a lot of them won't believe that there was ever a world like the one it portrays; a lot of them won't understand how the characters could behave the way they do. Those who either remember the period or are willing to surrender themselves to Haynes' re-creation, will be amply rewarded.
M.
It's very easy to laugh at many things in the movie that feel out of date (the audience I saw it with couldn't restrain themselves). But by stylizing this lost 50s world with a style of movie-making that feels equally antique, Haynes somehow manages to bring it back to life. The movie is a time capsule, but it's one that pulses with barely-contained emotional turmoil. A lot of contemporary viewers won't get this film; a lot of them won't believe that there was ever a world like the one it portrays; a lot of them won't understand how the characters could behave the way they do. Those who either remember the period or are willing to surrender themselves to Haynes' re-creation, will be amply rewarded.
M.