Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I love the work of Todd Haynes. SUPERSTAR is one of the best unreleased films I’ve seen, and I’m sorry legal issues keep it out of circulation. I think it’s one of the most incisive looks at the way eating disorders really work, an oddly moving film that looks like a gimmick on the surface, but that is actually deep and smart and really well written. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s the Karen Carpenter story, as told with Barbie dolls. It’ll never see the light of legal release, between Mattel and Richard Carpenter, who owns the rights to all the music in the film and who refuses to allow Haynes the right to use it because, unsurprisingly, he hates the way he’s portrayed.
Then there’s SAFE. Holy cow. One of my very favorite horror films of the ‘90s. Julianne Moore does some of the very best work of her career in the film. Her descent into madness and isolation brought the early brilliant work of Cronenberg to mind, as well as Polanski’s REPULSION, but it’s never a blatant homage or a rip-off. Haynes made something original and great.
DOTTIE GETS SPANKED is a great curio, and VELVET UNDERGROUND is a brilliantly designed mural that never comes to life for me as a viewer. It’s his two major works that have me excited to see FAR FROM HEAVEN next week, since we’re dealing with a stylistic exercise in formalism like SUPERSTAR starring the best actor he’s ever worked with, his star from SAFE. Whatever he’s made here, I’m walking in open-minded and hoping for the best. Let’s see what this spy thought after this week’s preview evening at the Egyptian in Hollywood...
Moriarty
Caught the preview screening of Far From Heaven yesterday (10/14) at the Egyptian here in Los Angeles. All I had heard about the film was that it was an homage to the films of 50s director Douglas Sirk starring Julianne Moore, but since I'm not familiar with the works of Sirk or Todd Haynes (the director), I came in not really knowing what to expect.
What I got was a pleasant surprise. Despite its flaws, the strengths of Far From Heaven outweigh its weaknesses, making it a film well worth seeing. Julianne Moore's excellent performance and the cinematography alone are worth the price of admission. Haynes's use of color in this movie is just something else, and it's easy to get lost simply admiring the richness of the color palette and the contrast and fusion of warm and cool shades.
Set in the 50s, Far From Heaven follows the typical "perfect" family from that era, and explores the problems that lie beneath. Moore plays Cathy Whitaker, a devoted housewife whose husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) discovers he's homosexual and tries to find a "cure" for the sake of his reputation and their two kids. Husband and wife become alienated, and Cathy begins to spend time with her black gardener Raymond (Dennis Haysbert), to the whispers and raised eyebrows of the neighborhood.
Although homosexuality and race relations aren't exactly the newest themes to tackle, setting them in the fifties does add something of a twist to it. My main problem with the film, however, is the not entirely successful attempt to balance satire (for lack of a better word) and homage.
At times, the film is very tongue in cheek in dealing with the mentality of the times, and seems to be playing off the camp factor. At others, it takes itself deathly seriously, and you can tell it's trying oh so hard to make you cry. It's a tightwire act the film isn't always able to pull off. In addition, I wasn't really feeling the chemistry between Moore and Haysbert. The development of their relationship is a little too convenient to the plot, and Haysbert's character lacked the depth that I expected from such a major supporting character.
After the screening, Moore, Haynes, and Elmer Bernstein (who also did the score to the upcoming Gangs of New York) came out to field questions from the audience. Nothing that interesting was said, but it was evident that quite a bit of love and hard work went into the making of the film.
Minor quibbles aside, Far From Heaven is a solid film, and breathtakingly gorgeous to look at. Quaid and Moore are fantastic in their respective roles, and it's extremely well crafted, but the story leaves a little something to be desired.
Just my two cents,
Lee
Thanks, man. I wonder if a working knowledge of Sirk’s melodramas makes this a different film for the viewer. I’ve seen quite a few of his films, and I’m fascinated the idea of inverting the hyper-repressed world he created, especially with this cast.
"Moriarty" out.
