309. All That Heaven Allows (1955) (wrongly listed as 1956)
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Synopsis
A well-off widow falls in love with her gardener. People at the country club don't like her no more, her children think she is ruining her life, but in the end love prevails. Duh.
Review
What a melodrama! If the previous Douglas Sirk film on the list (which actually came out after this one), Written On The Wind was a template for Soap Operas like Dallas and Dynasty, this is the template for 100 more soaps, on love triumphing over social status and the gossip of others. Notice that this actually came out in 1955 and that the list has placed it in the wrong place.
For all those reasons and more, this is an exceedingly kitsch film. Rock Hudson seems to be perfectly aware of this, as in contrast to his performance on Giant, where he is very natural, here he hams it up to high heavens.
These problems of being overly melodramatic, hammy and kitsch actually make it pretty watchable. Elements like the annoying intellectual bespectacled daughter spouting mock-Freudian theory or the cartoony characteristics of the mother's high class friends all add to the fun of watching the film. Unfortunately this was not the film's intention.
Final Grade
7/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
All That Heaven Allows was the inspiration for Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) in which a mature woman falls in love with an Arab man. The film was spoofed by John Waters with his 1981 film Polyester. Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven (2002) is an homage to Sirk's work, in particular All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life.
Trailer:
Synopsis
A well-off widow falls in love with her gardener. People at the country club don't like her no more, her children think she is ruining her life, but in the end love prevails. Duh.
Review
What a melodrama! If the previous Douglas Sirk film on the list (which actually came out after this one), Written On The Wind was a template for Soap Operas like Dallas and Dynasty, this is the template for 100 more soaps, on love triumphing over social status and the gossip of others. Notice that this actually came out in 1955 and that the list has placed it in the wrong place.
For all those reasons and more, this is an exceedingly kitsch film. Rock Hudson seems to be perfectly aware of this, as in contrast to his performance on Giant, where he is very natural, here he hams it up to high heavens.
These problems of being overly melodramatic, hammy and kitsch actually make it pretty watchable. Elements like the annoying intellectual bespectacled daughter spouting mock-Freudian theory or the cartoony characteristics of the mother's high class friends all add to the fun of watching the film. Unfortunately this was not the film's intention.
Final Grade
7/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
All That Heaven Allows was the inspiration for Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) in which a mature woman falls in love with an Arab man. The film was spoofed by John Waters with his 1981 film Polyester. Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven (2002) is an homage to Sirk's work, in particular All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life.
Trailer:
posted by Francisco Silva @ 9:07 PM
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