Plot
In 1957 suburban Connecticut, Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore), appears to be the perfect wife, mother, and homemaker. Cathy is married to Frank (Dennis Quaid), a successful executive at Magnatech, a company selling television advertising. One evening Cathy receives a phone call from the local police who are holding her husband. He says it's all a mix up but they won't let him leave alone. Cathy is preparing for her annual party with her best friend, Eleanor Fine (Patricia Clarkson). One day Cathy spies an unknown black man walking through her yard. He turns out to be Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert), the son of Cathy's late gardener.
Frank finds himself forced to stay late at the office, swamped with work. One evening, however, he enters an underground bar filled with single men. One night when Frank is working late, Cathy decides to bring his dinner to him at the office. She walks in on him passionately kissing another man. Frank confesses having had "problems" as a young man, and agrees to sign up for conversion therapy. His relationship with Cathy is irreparably strained, however; and he turns to alcohol. Meanwhile, Cathy starts becoming better acquainted with Raymond.
One night, after a party, Frank attempts to make love to Cathy. He is unable to become aroused and strikes Cathy when she tries to console him. Cathy finds herself completely unable to comprehend the destruction of her marriage. As she sees her once-idyllic world begin to fall apart, she turns to Raymond for comfort. He takes her on a ride to his part of the town where she meets other black people. At a gas station, they are sighted together by one of Cathy's neighbors, who immediately tells everyone. The town is soon ablaze with gossip about the two of them. After her husband comes home furious, Cathy unwillingly breaks off her blossoming friendship with Raymond.
Over Christmas, Cathy takes her family on a vacation to Miami to take their minds off of things. At the hotel, Frank has another sexual encounter with the young man. Unable to suppress his desires, he seeks a divorce from Cathy. Cathy is later informed by their maid Sybil (Viola Davis) that Raymond's daughter was attacked by three white boys. Cathy comes to their home to find them packing up and moving to Baltimore. Now that Cathy is to be single, she presents the opportunity for them to be together. Raymond declines. "I've learned my lesson about mixing the two worlds," he says. In the last scene, Cathy goes to the train station to see Raymond off and say her silent goodbye to him.
Read more about this topic: Far From Heaven
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