Friday, April 18, 2025 - 6:00 pm
April 18 - Far From Heaven (2002), 108 minutes, directed by Todd Haynes, starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Dennis Haysbert.
Todd Haynes’s homage to Douglas Sirk’s plush 1950s melodramas manages to be both imitative and innovative. Suburban 1950s Connecticut housewife Cathy Whitaker (a luminous Julianne Moore) has her perfect world shattered upon discovering her husband (Dennis Quaid) is a homosexual. As their marriage suffers, she drifts toward the tender affections of her Black gardener (Dennis Haysbert). Haynes’s pitch perfect cast takes on the subtle social commentary of Sirk’s films, most particularly All That Heaven Allows (1955), and goes several steps further. Haynes’s sensitive treatment of sexuality and race was unthinkable in the censorious Hollywood of Sirk’s time 70 years ago.
April CinemaLit - Best Films of the 21st Century
CinemaLit is delving into recent film history this month. In 2023, The Hollywood Reporter published an article by six film journalists on the fifty best films of the 21st century so far. Of course this is a work in progress, but it does offer a first glimpse predicting the most enduring films of our time.
Some of them have already shown up at CinemaLit: Pan’s Labrinth (2006), Marie Antoinette (2006), Bright Star (2009), I Am Not Your Negro (2016), Moonlight (2016), and Get Out (2017).
We are happy to add three more to the list. Join us for Pariah (2011) on April 4, Far From Heaven (2002) on April 18, and Children of Men (2006) on April 25. They are a diverse trio, but they share in common a directorial incentive to push boundaries of what movies can be.
Matthew Kennedy, CinemaLit’s curator, has written biographies of Marie Dressler, Joan Blondell, and Edmund Goulding. His book Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s, was the basis of a film series on Turner Classic Movies. His most recent book, On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide, examines the screen legend's entire career.
“I don't have a favorite film,” Matthew says. "I find that my relationships to films, actors, genres, and directors change as I change over the years. Some don't hold up. Some look more profound, as though I've caught up with their artistry. I feel that way about Garbo, Cary Grant, director John Cassavetes, and others."
“Classic films have historical context, something only time can provide,” Matt observes. “They become these great cultural artifacts, so revealing of tastes, attitudes, and assumptions.”
Cafe opens at 5:30 pm with wine, beer, sparkling water, juice, and fresh-popped popcorn for sale.
Tickets can be purchased online below, or onsite in Office 406 during the following box office hours:
Monday: 10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 1 pm to 6 pm
Thursday: 12 pm to 4 pm
Friday: 1 pm to 4 pm
Saturday: Closed
Please note: Photos and/or video may be taken during this event.
CinemaLit Films
