Far from Heaven

Far from Heaven (2002) is Todd Haynes' aching period drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Hartford, Connecticut, 1957. Cathy Whitaker has the model marriage, two children and a house the neighbors envy. Then she walks in on her husband kissing another man.

Julianne Moore plays a woman whose flawless life quietly comes apart at the seams. Her husband Frank, played by Dennis Quaid, sees a doctor hoping to be "cured," while Cathy finds herself drawn to her gardener Raymond (Dennis Haysbert), a gentle, well-read man who happens to be Black. In the buttoned-up suburbia of the era, both of her feelings are forbidden, and the town punishes each one. Patricia Clarkson and a young Viola Davis appear in support.

Haynes built the film as a loving echo of Douglas Sirk's 1950s melodramas: saturated autumn color, Elmer Bernstein's score, costumes straight off a vintage magazine cover. Underneath that glossy surface sits a hard look at racism, homophobia and the cost of keeping up appearances. It collected four Oscar nominations, and Moore's performance is still rated among her finest. One for anyone who loves slow, gorgeous filmmaking that quietly breaks your heart. Stream Far from Heaven (2002) online on iFILM.