Far from Heaven

Just watched this thing and honestly... I'm disappointed. To be fair, I went in totally blind, so it's hard to say if I had massive expectations or whatever.
The issue is probably that it's just another high-concept flick. Trying to mimic those old 50s movies is a neat trick, but it doesn't make FFH actually good. If you peel back that stylistic layer, there's basically nothing left. It’s nothing we haven't seen before, and nothing we haven't seen done better somewhere else. And if anyone tries to argue that the 50s setting is essential because of the racial tension themes, I'd say that's secondary—the writer just used it as an excuse to give the lead character some internal drama. Whatever, my bad. The movie looks great, sure, though the audio is a mess since I can't stand that LOUD AND OVERWROUGHT music they used in that era. The directing is sharp and the acting is decent... but it's all so shallow. Like, what's even the point???

IMDb

It’s true, it’s basically a sort of tribute to those 50s melodramas, though the script itself is an original piece of work. The acting is stellar, and honestly, the attention to detail might feel almost excessive for an American film at times. But the performances? Really strong. Personally, I’ve always been a fan of that subtle, simmering tension—something you just don't see much in modern American cinema anymore. From a sociological perspective, the 50s were really that era where American society started losing its innocence. Keeping that in mind helps make sense of the movie; it’s when all that hypocrisy and mimicry started creeping in, using the masses as a crutch.
And one more thing—just because the absolute best classical compositions were written 50 or 100 years ago doesn't mean people aren't making stuff today that actually holds some weight. 🙂

When it comes to movies from the 1950s, I have to say that decade is easily my favorite era of filmmaking. Some of the best and most cherished films I’ve ever seen come from that period (just a few examples being some kind of hot love, Quo Vadis, a tram called longing, anatomy of a murder, and River Kwai)... Because of that, I didn't mind at all that this film was made back then, with none of the modern attempts to gloss over its period setting.

The music is beautiful throughout the entire film (though I do agree it's a bit heavy-handed at times), and Julianna Moore delivered what I believe is the best performance of her career so far (at least based on everything I've seen her do)... I honestly don't get why Todd Haynes wasn't nominated for directing, but since he did get a nod for screenplay, I won't complain too much about the Academy's choices...

That said, I feel the movie leans way too hard into overt racism. It’s especially glaring in that pool scene, and the breaking point for me was when Dennis Haysbert (who is excellent, by the way) takes Ms. Whitaker by the hand in the middle of the street, only for some white man to shout, "What are you doing?!" When you look at those scenes in isolation, you really have to wonder: what was the director trying to achieve, other than making the audience feel contempt for American Society Fifty on one hand, and relief they weren't born in that era on the other?

If the director had cut those exaggerated moments and just focused on those subtle, brilliant beats—like when the white women stare at Ms. Whitaker as if she were a witch—this would be a masterpiece. As it stands, it earns a four-star rating and one more vote for Julianna Moore for Best Actress (though personally, I really wanted her to take home an Oscar; if anyone among this year's nominees deserved it more, it's her)...