Overview
A perfect life unravels as love and betrayal collide in a conservative world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- sincere
- wistful
- reflective evening
- classic cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as an exquisitely designed and performed melodrama whose sincere emotional power and intelligent social critique earn its tears.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film uses heightened romantic crises and emotionally direct performances while treating Cathy, Frank, and Raymond's pain with seriousness rather than irony.
Cathy's polished domestic life becomes emotionally isolating as her husband's sexuality and her relationship with Raymond challenge the community's accepted norms.
Cathy's growing attachment to her African-American gardener Raymond is constrained by 1950s segregationist attitudes and social surveillance.
Edward Lachman's saturated autumnal colors, composed interiors, and stylized framing evoke and revise the visual language of 1950s Douglas Sirk melodrama.
Films like Far from Heaven, and why
Safe
shared suburban alienation, 1950s melodrama, social repression, and immaculate period design
Imitation of Life
shared Douglas Sirk-inspired melodrama, forbidden interracial romance, and critique of bourgeois conformity
The Children's Hour
shared queer repression, emotional restraint, and mid-century social conventions rendered through romantic drama
Carol
shared lush visual style, forbidden desire, and tragic conflict between personal feeling and social expectations
Movie Details
- Director
- Todd Haynes
- Release Date
- 2002-11-08
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (694)
Cast
- Julianne Moore
- Dennis Quaid
- Dennis Haysbert
- Patricia Clarkson
- Viola Davis
- James Rebhorn
- Bette Henritze
- Michael Gaston
- Ryan Ward
- Lindsay Andretta
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Far from Heaven about?
- A pristine 1950s suburban marriage fractures when concealed sexuality and an interracial friendship expose the cruelty beneath respectable domestic life.
- What is Far from Heaven like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Far from Heaven as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Far from Heaven violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Far from Heaven.
- What did critics think of Far from Heaven?
- Critics broadly regard it as an exquisitely designed and performed melodrama whose sincere emotional power and intelligent social critique earn its tears.
- Which films are like Far from Heaven?
- Films with a similar feel include Safe, Imitation of Life, The Children's Hour, and Carol.
- How long is Far from Heaven?
- Far from Heaven runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch Far from Heaven?
- In United States, Far from Heaven is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
