FFH vs. the "original" movie, ATHA
Ready? LONG post ahead with ALL of the spoilers. Heeeere we go!
(Note: I am so not taking the time to edit this messy post. Je ne regrette rien!)
So, I watched "Far from Heaven" earlier tonight and I'm watching the movie it was based on, "All That Heaven Allows" (1955), now. Since the former is a loose 'remake' of the latter, I thought it'd be interesting to write down the connections I see, and some other thoughts I had.
⚫ I think it's interesting that in FFH the relationships in question are multiracial and homosexual, and of course the relationship between the two people in those relationships. A sort of Venn diagram with the married couple in the middle part. The movie shows how hard it may have been for people in that time to deal with these feelings and changes in themselves, in others and in society.
⚫ In the movie that was actually MADE in the 50's, however, the questionable relationship was one of age difference. For me, that's why there's the difference between the movie titles. The man and woman in "All That Heaven Allows" are able to have some kind of relationship in the world, at least they can be seen talking to each other, etc. It's an age difference, but it's not met with the hatred & bigotry that the characters in the remake are forced to face. In comparison, the title "Far From Heaven" is heavier, emptier, and describes the lack of any allowance by society for the married couple's new/secret relationships - they are not allowed to love, they are "Far From Heaven".
⚫ I love the old-school romance flavor that the romance between Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman's characters have in ATHA -- with the old string music and the deep kisses actors in old movies go in for, it's just very sweet and convincing... the romance in FFH was convincing because of the way they looked at each other, but the fact that nothing physical happened between them in the newer version is interesting.
⚫ Rock Hudson was seriously hot in the original!! The romantic interest of Julianne Moore may also have been hot in the new one, but I honestly had trouble with him in the movie because I've seen him host about 3,000 "All State" commercials. At least Julianne knew she'd be in good hands... ha!!
⚫ The bitchy lady who messes with the main character lady in both versions is named "Mona".
⚫ The main lady in ATHA is a widow with two grown children. She could easily have been the picture of Julianne Moore's character from FFH, about 15 years after the movie FFH ended. Easily. Jane Wyman basically played an older Julianne Moore, with her two kids all grown up. Pretty cool connection there.
⚫ Bonus Point: There was a metaphor I caught early on in ATHA that I felt was perfect -- Rock Hudson's character grows trees, (he's also a gardener who took over the business after his father died, like in FFH), so his house is part greenhouse with glass walls... one of them (him or Jane) makes a comment about "must be tough, living in a glass house..."... and the other responds, "yes, but you can see the stars". If that's not a metaphor, I don't know what is! But for those of you who aren't big on metaphors, I'll tell you that it represents the "glass house" the characters live in, everyone outside judging their lives, and "throwing stones". Now, in the new version, the man has rocks thrown through his windows, smashing the glass. In the old one, his house is actually glass. These are both metaphors for the judgemental environment of the 50's... and a cool connection between the movies.