Ambiguity In Far From Heaven

During the 50's director Douglas Sirk made his name as the master of melodrama with such classics as "Written on the Wind" and "Imitation of Life," as he examined romantic relations and intrigues that showcased leading man Rock Hudson. In what can only be called heartfelt homage, writer/director Todd Haynes captures the interpersonal angst of Sirk and updates it to the new millennium in "Far From Heaven."
Sirk propelled Rock Hudson to movie icon status as a regular player in many of the director's popular flicks using, I think, the actor's secret sexual preference to create characters that had a certain ambiguity about them. With "Far From Heaven" writer/helmer Todd Haynes seems to be doing the same for Julianne Moore. This is the second film that Haynes and Moore have worked together, the first being "Safe," and in this latest collaboration we see a professional relationship that may not be so far from heaven.
Moore plays Cathy Whitaker, an upper middle class housewife who tends to her beautiful home in Hartford, Connecticut for her hard-working TV sales exec husband, Frank (Dennis Quaid), and her two young kids. Life is idyllic with Cathy able to demonstrate her liberal attitudes and voice her mind on the time's civil rights issues. She is startled one day, though, when she sees a stranger, a
But these films have been a learning experience for the writer/director leading up to his latest, most fully drawn effort in "Far From Heaven." Haynes has transcended his previous works in what can be considered a masterpiece of modern cinema that reps the maturing of an artist into world-class