All That Heaven Allows
d. Douglas Sirk, 1955
Sirk's melodramas, including All That Heaven Allows, hold a special place in the landscape of American movies. Not so revered upon their release, they gained acclaim as time went by. Directors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Todd Haynes payed tribute to him in Fear Eats the Soul, a variation on this film set in Germany, and Far From Heaven (which I have not seen), respectively.
The film revolves around a widow, Cary (Jane Wyman), and the love affair that she begins with her young gardener, Ron (Rock Hudson, who was in real life 11 years younger than Wyman). With Cary being an upper class woman, her neighbors and kids suggest, her relationship with Ron is impossible.
After certain incidents, Cary is convinced that nothing could ever work between her and Ron, although it is more than obvious that they love one another. That's about all I'll say about the plot, but suffice it to say All That Heaven Allows ends on a superlative note. Usually, I would not like that in a film, but Sirk's is so lush and wonderful that I'm glad he uses the heightened emotions to close his movie.
All That Heaven Allows is truly a great movie; the Technicolor is vibrant, the music is mood, Hudson and Wyman are both great, and Sirk's mastery is in top form here.
