Far from Heaven may be one of the most gorgeous films ever shot. From the richness of the colors to the quality of the light -- this thing is just fucking beautiful. and it only gets better from there.

The story, briefly as I can tell it: Julianne Moore plays a housewife in the late 50s who is really living the ideal life, or so everyone thinks. Her hunky husband (Dennis Quaid) is a star in the business world, she has two angelic kids, a dream house, rich friends, and a "Modern Living"-type magazine has just decided to make her it's poster girl. Her life should be heaven. The thing is, her husband is moody, he works ridiculous hours and isn't interested in intimacy. When she decides to surprise him by bringing dinner to him at the office late one night, she finds him making love to another man. She's crushed and her husband is horribly ashamed (this is the 50s, after all). In order to save the perfect marriage and his perfect job, the husband decides to undergo therapy to "cure" his homosexual behavior, which, as you might imagine, makes him into a sullen, cranky bastard. When Moore strikes up a friendship with her good looking African American gardener (Dennis Haysbert) the shit really hits the fan.

Everything about Far from Heaven is amazing. The story is powerful and sad. The writing is tight and moving, the direction light as a feather, and the cinematography stunning. Add to that Julianne Moore's arguably finest performance (she'd better get a fucking Oscar for this), and excellent work from Quaid, Haysbert, and the rest of the cast, and you just get a great fucking movie. This is among my 5 picks for Best Picture of 2002. It's a fine movie in every sense, and you should definitely see it.