A word of advice - watch a few Douglas Sirk movies first especially "All the Heaven Allows" with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson and "Imitation of Life" with Lana Turner. The former film is for the romance with a gardener and the latter is the racism issue. It will make watching this more interesting and it's delightful to pick up the similarities - music costumes color palate cinematography and plot. In terms of the social issues highlighted it's quite far from Douglas Sirk by dealing with a homosexual husband something that couldn't have been shown in the 50s.Julianne Moore is lovely as the perfect housewife in Hartford. Dennis Quaid is her tormented gay husband. Dennis Haysbert is the gardener.This is a good movie and very involving but I prefer the original Sirk movies still.

Hartford, Connecticut, 1957. Frank and Cathy Whitaker are what people might name "The American Dream come true": he's a successful salesman, she's a devoted housewife in charge of a perfect house in the suburbs and two lovely children, and committed to the social causes of the time. But this will fall apart when Cathy discovers a shocking truth about Frank, and she finds solace in Raymond, the black gardener, which will make her the center of the town's gossips.Todd Haynes has declared himself as a great admirer of the highly stylized melodramas made back in the 50's (especially the ones directed by Douglas Sirk: Imitation of Life and All that heaven allows). His third feature Far from heaven is an open homage to these movies, and it's also a compelling approach for younger audiences to an often forgotten genre. Haynes' splendid screenplays offers a sharp gaze to social troubles that sadly still remain just like in the 50's: sexual preferences treated as a disease and racial discrimination towards black people (let's remember they basically had zero rights at that time). In addition to this, tells a poignant story about forbidden love following the rules of melodrama (a plot that appeals to the heightened emotions of the audience, suffering protagonists (usually heroines) facing tremendous social pressures, threats, repression, fears, etc), escaping its clichés and conventionalities skilfully. As mentioned, in Far from heaven, Haynes' intention is to accomplish a faithful recreation of the old-fashioned period dramas in which production values become another character of the movie (an essential one). Thus, Haynes' creative team is able to put together a visually-striking gem: from Edward Lachman's exquisite cinematography, Sandy Powell's alluring costumes and Elmer Bernstein (in one of his final works) and his evocative music (it's not an accident the fact that Haynes chose him to score the movie, since he worked in several of those period pieces): all of them are perfectly assembled without overshadowing the final result. The third element that makes this movie so powerful and compelling is the acting: Haynes trusts in Julianne Moore's tremendous range and she portraits Cathy's tribulations with an affecting honesty (this is one of her top performances, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film festival and received an Oscar nomination, among many other awards). Then there's Dennis Quaid, delivering the best performance of his career: as Frank he embraces his confusion and pain brilliantly, and creates empathy for a man whose "sin" to live a lie and hide his true desires. And behind them, there's a firs-rate supporting cast, including Dennis Haysbert as Raymond, the gardener who will comfort Cathy (even though this might cause him some pain) and Patricia Clarkson and Viola Davis in strong turns. With this movie, Todd Haynes let us know his superb skills as director by taking in a misunderstood genre, infuse it with new life and keeping its essence at the same time.

Far From Heaven (2002): Dir: Todd Haynes / Cast: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis: Intriguing film examining the values of 1950's lifestyles in comparison to modern day. It also regards views and expectations of a high profile marriage and the destructive nature that unravels it. Julianne Moore organizes community events but is shocked when she catches her husband kissing another man. She confides in her black gardener, which leads to destructive gossip. Set in 1957 and plays off humour when words such as "Jeez" is considered foul. It also offers compelling views of race and sexuality. Well crafted by director Todd Haynes who successfully establishes the time and lifestyles and how it has changed with time. Moore is fantastic and radiant as a housewife struggling to deal with several feelings. Dennis Quaid as her husband are superb in his dilemma and. Dennis Haysbert is well cast as the gardener whom adds a new level of interest due to his race. Patricia Clarkson plays Moore's friend turned sour when she learns certain gossip. Ending is abrupt with unanswered questions. Viola Davis is featured as a maid. The children are somewhat sheltered by the identity of their father for which their mother struggles to process. Some elements are predictable while others are merely intriguing but its message indicates that our society is far from Heaven. Score: 8 / 10

This is honestly one of the worst movies I have watched in a LONG time. I fell asleep about 45 minutes into the movie because I was so bored. I thought this would be a good movie because I remember that it got good reviews after it came out. Well the reviews were wrong. This movie is so incredibly slow, the dialogue is boring, and the acting seems so stiff and forced. The way they portray Julianne Moore as the "average, normal 50's housewife" is totally inaccurate. What did the director think every woman was like June Cleaver then?? I highly doubt that a normal woman acted that way and spoke that way. I mean come on, seriously. It's a shame because this movie maybe could have been saved and made into something watchable if maybe another director had done this movie. This movie is just bad in my opinion. It's only good to watch if you need a sleep-aid.