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A DVD Review of...
  
Images (C) Icon Films, 2002 |
Genre: Drama
Cast: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis
Synopsis: Written & Directed by Todd Haynes. It is the fall of 1957. The Whitakers make their home in Hartford, Connecticut. Their daily existences are characterized by carefully-observed family etiquette, social events and an overall desire to keep up with the Joneses. Cathy Whitaker is the homemaker, wife and mother. Frank is the breadwinner, husband and father. They have two pre-teen children, a boy and a girl. As the story unfolds, Cathy's pristine world is transformed. Her interactions with her gardener, Raymond Deagan; her best friend, Eleanor Fine; and her maid, Sybil, reflect the upheavals in her life. Cathy is faced with choices that spur gossip within the community and change several lives forever.
Film Review: One of the most beautiful looking and surprising films of the year, "Far from Heaven" gives us
what would essentially be topics of a 90's TV melodrama but sets it in an idyllic suburban neighbourhood from the 50's
and has its characters act and try to comprehend things in that charmingly optimistic but somewhat naieve way that
film characters of the era do. Director Todd Haynes has humbly set out to painstakingly recreate both the look and
feel of the 50's films of Douglas Sirk such as "All That Heaven Allows" and "There's Always Tomorrow" and has
succeeded with flying colours. The deep rich colours of the clothes, the magnificent home palaces of parquetrie and
bannisters, the orange glow of autumn leaves on picture perfect backyards - the cinematography, production design,
lighting and costume departments have all come together to create images as rich as oil paintings. From a purely
visual standpoint, this is easily one of the most striking looking movies I've seen on the big screen in a LONG time
and is helped by Elmer Bernstein's era-specific and effective score.
The good news is there's a lot more to it than that. 'Heaven' explores the issue of gay and interracial love in a
society which won't accept the notions let alone tolerate them. Even the most open minded cities of modern
day society (NYC, San Fran, Sydney, London, LA, etc.) still have a long way to go in terms of completely accepting
both those issues. Their exploration though in this is fascinating as Haynes never breaks out into an odd or
different direction - the material is treated completely seriously and yet done in that almost daydream style
idyllic cleanliness we so associate with films and TV shows of that era. Nothing is overt - from Frank's daliances
to the beautifully understated friendship between Cathy and Raymond, a lot of what would be considered the
'darker' elements take place off screen or are merely implied without vocalisation. On the one hand this
suits the style of the subject matter, but regrettably it also weakens the emotional punch of the film.
None of this could be pulled off without strong performances and Julianne Moore gives her career best whilst Quaid,
Haysbert and Clarkson are welcome support. All of them manage to pull off their roles with strength and total
credibility whilst never wandering into the trap of overdoing it or becoming caricatures. As their lives all
begin to unravel its very easy to feel for them and their simple desires in a society so rife with denial. At two
hours its a long film and one whose pace does remain at a slow crawl throughout which rules out younger or impatient
audiences. Nevertheless its refreshingly optimistic filmmaking which acts as both an homage and as something
entirely distinctive in itself. - Garth Franklin
"Far From Heaven"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 1)
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 108mins
Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed
Aspect Ratio: 1.85: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS 5.1
Language & Sub-Titles: English, Spanish, French
Commentar: Director Todd Haynes & Actress Julianne Moore.
Documentaries: Three Featurettes
Region 1 vs. Region 4: No Region 4 Available. |
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DVD Review: With such a heavily stylised and richly textured film, the DVD people responsible for this had their work cut out for them and the good news is they've succeeded for the most part. The transfer is beautiful - the many rich colours look exquisite, detail level is excellent with no signs of edge enhancement or grain. There is a slightly soft tone which is deliberate although I did find the darkness level to be a bit stronger than I expected. This was a film which looked glorious at the cinema and on a big screen, so on the small screen there's understandably a loss of impact but still as looks go this is not reference quality but it does look good. Audio wise the great score and dialogue comes out perfectly clearly with an excellent amount of range and use of orientation, however there's not as much intensity to it as you may think.
Extras wise there's four supplementals to add onto the experience. Todd Haynes lends his voice to a very detailled and quite in-depth commentary track which admittedly seems a little stilted at first but goes onto become a solid and informative audio accompanier to the movie. The 11 minute "The Making of Far from Heaven" isn't a particularly good piece, more like an HBO style special and far inferior to the Sundance Channel "Anatomy of a Scene" half hour doco which covers all the basics from costume, editing, score, production design, performance, etc. in a featurette which uses a LOT of clips but combines it with interesting interviews. Finally there's a short four-minute clip from an obviously much longer Q&A session Moore and Haynes did at the American Cinematheque - its a shame its so short as it was great to hear their more natural than usual responses to certain questions. Capping off the set is the trailer, production notes & filmmographies. Considering the film was such a treat I was hoping for more, but what's here is satisfying and its a great movie in any case. - Garth Franklin
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