1955 Directed by Douglas Sirk
Two different social classes collide when Cary Scott, a wealthy upper-class widow, falls in love with her much younger and down-to-earth gardener, prompting disapproval and criticism from her children and country club friends.
i braced myself for disappointment at the start of this vaunted classic i've been dodging for years-- but i needn't have worried. it seems that growing up in soulless white suburbia, reading thoreau as a kid and knowing there was something- anything- beyond the nightmare of bourgeois conformity was just preparing me for this moment. i'm still stunned at how hard it hit me. my parents never understood but sirk did, and long before i was born
"Cary, let's face it: you were ready for a love affair, but not for love."
Lately I've been fascinated with melodrama, in particular the way its priorities differ from the expectations of what we might loosely refer to as a "good film". In general, we seem to want relatable characters in realistic situations which in turn evoke an emotional response; but in melodrama, everything is backwards. As Sidney Lumet once said, "In a well-written drama, the story comes out of the characters. The characters in a well-written melodrama come out of the story." Perhaps this is why the term has come to take on pejorative connotations in recent years: in melodrama, emotion comes first, even if it's at the expense…
God, the production design and cinematography, yes, and the withering portrait of repressive values, but sometimes I think that the artistic virtues of Sirk, of which there are many, are stressed as a means of justifying his chosen field of women's pictures, when even on a script level this is such a compelling movie, and so forcefully acted that its subtext, however key to the picture, is still the subtext under a direct swirl of emotions. It's all great, is what I'm saying. Why has it taken me so long to really dig into Sirk?
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Douglas Sirk captures gossip and high-class pettiness as vicious language destined to tear family units out internally, sizzling in an attempt to fulfill a reorganization of status and force outsiders to succumb to the dominance of social position. Ron's apathy provides a muted tension which only blares - in stunning, succulent color - when Cary's inner circle (both familial/societal) rises to the pitch of an attack, snarling and spitting when their own exterior is affected by a loving couple separated by class. As such, the middle portion of All That Heaven Allows should be seen as a Technicolor Horror, an angry, 'in the moment' response to a genuine romance. Kicker for me is when Ned answers Cary's phone call with a normal demeanor after previously being bathed in blazing red/electric blue light after shunning his mother. Words hurt, but in Sirk's world, they're currency for stature.
Film School Drop Outs – Weekly Challenge 2017 | Week 23 - Auteurs - Douglas Sirk
All That Heaven Allows was my first Sirk movie and it made me curious about the rest of his filmography. One thing that surprised me about the movie is that even though it is quite different from Fassbinder's remake Ali: Fear Eats the Soul both movies made me feel similar as I really wanted to talk about them afterwards but had a hard time trying to put my feelings into words.
What strikes me the most about All That Heaven Allows is that although the movie is more than 60 years old the subject matter is still relevant today when you think about how…
Everyone is shit besides Carrie
The cinematography though
Great wonderful
V visually appealing
Not really my type of movie though in terms of like plot
All That Heaven Allows soars in its moments of intimacy. The glowing technicolor and chemistry between the leads creates an atmosphere of tenderness and bliss. The love that the main characters share is a joy to watch.
Some of the elements of this film appeal to me greatly, such as the (previously stated) near perfect use of breathtaking technicolor, and the exploration of a mature relationship. The reason All That Heaven Allows didn’t click with me as much as I was hoping simply comes down to personal taste. I love some good melodrama, but this film is absolutely COATED in it. It’s just a bit too much for me personally, but doesn’t really deduct from the actual quality of the film.
If you enjoy social commentary, a powerful romance, and can handle a significant amount of melodrama, this is the film for you.
Douglas Sirk's melodrama about love, repression, conformity and small-town life in the 1950s is a masterpiece of American cinema. Jane Wyman's and Rock Hudson's chemistry must be seen to be believed! The Technicolor cinematography is out of this world. Every frame of the movie is just like a painting - this is so beautiful to look at.
It's insane that this works at all. But all of the shots of the blue snow globe winters and candy colored windows hide true roiling emotion.
I want to call my mother and apologize for all those times I asked her to put my needs above hers
sarah 🌙 136 films
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