Episode 93: Todd Haynes's 'Far From Heaven' (2002)

In this episode, I explore Todd Haynes's 2002 film, "Far From Heaven." It's an homage to 1950s melodramas and stars Julianne Moore as Cathy Whitaker, a Connecticut housewife who develops a deep connection to her African American gardener (Dennis Haysbert) while her marriage starts to crumble when her husband (Dennis Quaid) starts struggling with his repressed homosexuality. I talk about melodrama, woman's films, Douglas Sirk, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, how the film looks at race, sexuality, and gender, and much more! Spoilers are in this episode.

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Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

My episode on Birth
Douglas Sirk films: All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind,

Magnificent Obsession, Imitation of Life
Frida by Julie Taymor
The Hours by Stephen Daldry
Melodrama
Woman's film
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul by Fassbinder
My Safe episode
"Shallow" by Lady Gaga
"Hey Jupiter" by Tori Amos
My episode on Brief Encounter
Carol by Todd Haynes

All My Sources

Todd Haynes: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series), edited by Julia Leyda
Todd Haynes: From Fassbinder to Sirk and Back (A 2003 interview with the Criterion Collection)
Todd Haynes interview with BBC
Julianne Moore interview with Film Monthly
Douglas Sirk interview with Film Comment
Richard Brody - "Douglas Sirk's Glorious Cinema of Outsiders" (The New Yorker)