How 'Far From Heaven' holds up better than 'Carol'

When I saw Carol a few months ago, I admired the film -- and especially the lead performance of Cate Blanchett -- but I couldn't shake the sensation that I had seen a similar film made better before, by the same director no less.

That film, 2002's Far From Heaven, was another stunningly photographed period film grappling with social anxieties regarding mid-twentieth century taboos.

And while, inexplicably, Far From Heaven failed to be recognized widely during awards season, after watching it last night I remain convinced that it was one of the best films of its year and a superior film to Carol.

While Carol felt somewhat hermetically sealed in a gorgeous package, Far From Heaven is unafraid to evoke old fashioned emotionalism. This is a first-rate tearjerker but its also audacious in terms of its style and substance.

Director Todd Haynes set out to make a film that could play like a great lost so-called "women's picture" from the late 1950s, albeit with the occasional spike of modern sexual content and innuendo.

Holding it all together is the miraculous Julianne Moore, who has the unenviable task of making a somewhat naive and detached housewife incredibly sympathetic and endearing. It's a performance that was nominated for an Academy Award, and should have won.

The film keeps springing surprises the audience, and on the character Moore plays and not in a cheap, sensationalist sort of way. While I always felt two steps ahead of the narrative of Carol, I think Far From Heaven has a much more unconventional arc.

Moore is ably complimented by a never-better Dennis Quaid (as her troubled husband) and Dennis Haysbert (as her sensitive gardener). Why Haysbert never got a shot at leading man roles in film I'll never know, but after seeing this film it feels like a horrific oversight.

Julianne Moore and Dennis Haysbert in Far From Heaven

Where both Far From Heaven and Carol derive much of their power is in the utterly hopeless plight of their protagonists. Haynes understands the delicate balance women walked in the eras before the liberation movements of the '60s and '70s. Their options are so limited and the potential to be brutally ostracized or shunned  -- even from their closest peers -- is ever present.

These are characters trapped in worlds that look superficially spectacular but are haunted by regret, loneliness and a lack of emotional and physical fulfillment.

Each story makes for a desperately sad film in a sense, but the strength of the performances and consistency of vision from Haynes power you through. I just think with Far From Heaven he made his definitive statement on 1950s malaise and Carol is a worthy sidebar.