Far from Heaven: Melodrama as a tool for criticism

This weekend my friends and I were going through my library and found a copy of Far from Heaven, the Julianne Moore starrer released in 2002. The movie, I recall, was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score. Overall it was an excellent movie, with several levels of meaning that went on to critique gender roles, racial discrimination, sexual orientation, and class.

The most striking thing about the movie was that every scene was well-thought out, that is, from the lighting, to the scene’s elements, down to the sweeping skirts fashionable in its 1950’s suburban neighborhood setting, everything was in place and in context, without anachronisms usually found in movies of its genre. Surprisingly, for a movie shot within the lines of melodramatic films, Far from Heaven is a revelation in itself.

There is a very similar movie that was shot back in the 50’s, using the same melodramatic schemes. All That Heaven Allows was every bit as dramatic and emotionally charged as Far From Heaven, and for a movie of its time, it didn’t quite illuminate on issues that were, up until the 1980’s, considered revolutionary. The topics of racial discrimination, class liberation, homosexuality, and other matters of social concern were pointedly ignored—a feature commonly found in the formulaic melodramatic film.

Overall, Far from Heaven has deviated from the norms of film as it has portrayed the challenges of a 1950’s society. Though melodramatic, it acted as both reflection and critique of the social challenges that up until today are not completely resolved.