Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid seem to have it all, the American dream is no dream in their lives. Married, two kids, lovely suburban home in Fairfield County, Connecticut where only the most rich and respectable and their help live. Being a gardener is the only way that their gardener Dennis Haysbert get to live there. Back then it was what was called in polite terms restricted. In the south they called it segregated. It's a den of WASPS.
At least Julianne thinks she has it all until she catches Dennis at home in the embrace of a man. That's pretty devastating now, back then it was cause for exile from the human race. This was the Fifties when gays were being purged from government during those Truman-Eisenhower years with no redress whatsoever.
Moore catches this indiscretion after them making a local magazine cover as Mr.&Mrs. Magna Corporation, Quaid as the hard driving business executive and Moore as a June Cleaver housewife. Quaid is going to seek help for this terrible weakness that makes him feel ashamed and rotten after each act. And psychiatrist James Rebhorn assures him that great strides have been made in treating homosexuals.
Quaid can stay in the closet as 98% of gays did at the time, but this little revelation sends Moore looking for the understanding company of Dennis Haysbert who is a widower raising a small daughter. When they're seen innocently together that's what gets the mouths of Fairfield county moving.
How it all gets resolved is the story of Quaid, Moore, and Haysbert, but along the way you get some really riveting performances from these three stars and the rest of the cast. Besides those mentioned look out for Patricia Clarkson as Moore's best friend who is a real serpent.
I do love how the script captures the flavor of Fairfield County back in the days of my youth. Note how Moore's friends refer to her amateur theatrical background about how she was known as 'red' for hanging out with all those Jewish boys who were restricted out. And someone makes a lame joke about Senator Joe McCarthy driving by in a car and hearing some naughty subversive talk. What was ironical about that is that McCarthy who was Catholic could never have bought a home in that WASP den anti-Communist US Senator notwithstanding.
Julianne Moore won one of four Oscar nominations that Far From Heaven got from the Academy, in this case for Best Actress. I'm not sure why Quaid wasn't recognized also, he was that good. Don't miss this one when it comes to television.
