Far From Heaven

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 11 08 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 025192245626

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Maverick director Todd Haynes embraces the look and feel of classic Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s in this period drama. Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) and her husband, Frank (Dennis Quaid), are a seemingly perfect couple; living in a handsome suburban neighborhood in Hartford, CT, in 1957, Cathy and Frank have a beautiful home and two happy, healthy children, while Frank pursues a successful career in sales and Cathy cares for the home. But Cathy has begun to sense something isn't quite right in her marriage, as Frank begins working late, spending less time with her, and seems cold and distant. One day, Cathy visits Frank's work and discovers something she never expected -- her husband is kissing a man. At Cathy's urging, Frank undergoes psychotherapy, but as she tries to keep up a brave face, the emotional trauma takes a great toll on her, and she finds there are very few people she can talk with. Cathy strikes up a friendship with Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert), an African-American gardener who works for the Whitakers, and as she discovers how intelligent and compassionate Raymond is, she finds herself drawn to him. However, Hartford is in many ways still a small town, and when Mona (Celia Weston) sees Cathy and Raymond alone together, it sets off a wave of vicious gossip that threatens to make the Whitakers' many secrets public knowledge. Far from Heaven premiered at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, where Julianne Moore's performance won the prize for Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture (Runner-up) – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director (Runner-up) – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actress – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Musical Score – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Production Design (Runner-up) – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Screenplay – null Best Original Score – null Best Supporting Actress – National Society of Film Critics Best Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Screen Actors Guild Best Original Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – National Board of Review Best Picture – National Board of Review Prize for Most Outstanding Individual Contribution – Venice International Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actress – Venice International Film Festival Best Actress – Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Independent Spirit Awards Best Picture – Independent Spirit Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actress – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor [Runner-up] – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director [Runner-up] – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Original Score – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress – New York Film Critics Circle Best Director – New York Film Critics Circle Best Cinematography – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Independent Spirit Awards Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: The making of Far from Heaven
Anatomy of a scene featurette
Feature commentary with director Todd Haynes
A Filmmaker's Experience With Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes

Far From Heaven

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 04/01/2003

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 108 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Main Titles [2:39]
2. Mrs. Whitaker [2:25]
3. A Silly Mistake [3:38]
4. Mrs. Magnatech [5:00]
5. A Secret Life [6:15]
6. Raymond [3:37]
7. Frank's Problem [14:00]
8. The Art Show [5:19]
9. Another Glorious Party [2:59]
10. All Man [4:45]
11. A Day With Raymond [6:52]
12. The Only One [3:54]
13. Vicious Talk [5:59]
14. It Isn't Plausible [2:08]
15. Happy New Year [4:29]
16. Daddy's Girl [4:23]
17. The Breakup [2:54]
18. "Call Me Cathy" [6:59]
19. The Last Farewell [10:40]
20. End Titles [3:54]

Lucia Bozzola

Douglas Sirk became a cineaste darling for making 1950s weepies that were as passionate as they were ironic, reveling in gleaming surfaces and big emotions while telegraphing their hollow core. Todd Haynes's exquisite Far from Heaven captures the Sirk mood to perfection from the moment the first pristine images hit the screen. A reinterpretation of All That Heaven Allows (1955), with a dash of Imitation of Life (1959), Far from Heaven gets every detail right, from the well-appointed, expressively lit homes replete with imprisoning screens and shiny mirrors, the Technicolor foliage that matches the crisp '50s women's fashions, and the tasteful dissolves to Julianne Moore's Hollywood finishing-school elocution and the violin crescendo at a moment of crisis. Though Haynes nods once or twice to the camp possibilities in his retro vision, the performances in this gorgeous homage pulsate with genuine feeling. Moore shines as the content wife who resists looking through the surface of her life yet has the soul to grasp the alternatives therein, while Dennis Haysbert reveals that the noble black man also has a touch of humor along with the sensitivity and wisdom. Dennis Quaid's closeted husband cracks with anguish, but his underlying aura of white male privilege illuminates the greater suffering inflicted on Moore within the gilded society cage guarded by her pitch-perfect "best friend" Patricia Clarkson. Even with Haynes's potentially over-determined message about prejudice, Moore's fate at Far from Heaven's less-than-happy end honestly earns every tear. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Matt Malloy  Actor 
Mylika Davis  Actor 
George Clooney  Executive Producer 
Elmer Bernstein  Composer (Music Score) 
Todd Haynes  Director 
Todd Haynes  Screenwriter 
John Sloss  Executive Producer 
Steven Soderbergh  Executive Producer 
John Wells  Executive Producer 
Christine Vachon  Producer 
Jody Patton  Producer 
Eric Robison  Executive Producer 
Julianne Moore  Actor 
Dennis Quaid  Actor 
Dennis Haysbert  Actor 
Patricia Clarkson  Actor 
Viola Davis  Actor 
James Rebhorn  Actor 
Celia Weston  Actor 

Country: USA