Far from Heaven

Colour, 35 mm
USA, France, 2003, 107 min
Section: Horizons - Awarded films

Synopsis

Cathy Whitaker’s story begins in Hartford, Connecticut in the fall of 1957. Until now this well-situated housewife has only been responsible for looking good, managing a large house with the help of her reliable servant Sybil, and loving her two children and her husband Frank, a local TV employee. Her flawless life as a perfect American housewife (as if drawn from contemporary Cosmopolitan magazines) gets dealt a serious blow when Frank suddenly realizes that he’s long been deceiving her (and himself): Frank is actually attracted to men. Based on safe conventions up to this point, Cathy’s life now falls apart. But rather than confide in her best friend Eleanor, she finds solace with her gardener Raymond, and a new and dangerous but fascinating world of possibilities begins to open up before her. Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney produced Todd Haynes’ latest film, a formally sophisticated tribute to classic Hollywood “women’s” films of the fifties, along the lines of those by Douglas Sirk.

About the director

Todd Haynes (b. 1961, Los Angeles) graduated in art from Browne University in Rhode Island. He founded Apparatus Production, an organization for supporting independent film, and gained recognition with his oft-awarded debut short Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987). His next original efforts also received honours: Poison (1991 – Grand Jury Prize at Sundance), a story of three social outcasts; Safe (1995), an allegory of a housewife whose life is ruined by an allergy to cleaning products; and Velvet Goldmine (1997 – awarded for Artistic Contribution at Cannes), a fictitious account of the era when glam rock ruled England. Far from Heaven took four Independent Spirit Awards. At Venice, awards were conferred upon actress Julianne Moore (Volpi Cup, Audience Award), cameraman Edward Lachman and director Todd Haynes (SIGNIS Award).