Cinema Experts

"Only five people got nominated in that category, and that's not very many people. So I did all right."
Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Anne, a psychiatric social worker who emigrated from Dunoon, Scotland, and Peter Moore Smith, a military lawyer, judge, helicopter pilot and army colonel. Growing up as an "army brat" she lived in several places across the United States and Germany. Moore attended Frankfurt American High School in Frankfurt, Germany, graduating in 1979. She received her Bachelor's degree at the College of Fine Arts in Boston University.
Moore moved to New York City in 1983, working as a waitress before being cast in the dual roles of Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award; she played the roles from 1985 to 1988. Because of Screen Actors Guild rules, she had to change her name, since there were already actresses named "Julie Smith" and "Julianne Smith." She chose her father's middle name, "Moore." But because there was already another actress named "Julie Moore," she finally settled on "Julianne Moore."
Moore began starring in feature films in the early 1990s, mostly appearing in supporting roles in films like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Benny and Joon, and The Fugitive. Her part in 1993's Short Cuts gained her critical acclaim and recognition, and she was cast in several high-profile Hollywood films, including 1995's romantic comedy Nine Months, and 1997's summer blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Her role in the well-reviewed independent film Safe also attracted critical attention.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Moore appeared in a series of films that received Oscar recognition, including her roles in Boogie Nights ("Best Supporting Actress" nomination), The End of the Affair ("Best Actress" nomination) and her two 2002 films, Far From Heaven ("Best Actress" nomination) and The Hours ("Best Supporting Actress" nomination). During this period, she also appeared in the commercial successes Hannibal (controversially replacing Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling), The Forgotten and in Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to Boogie Nights, Magnolia.
Her film Freedomland opened in February 2006 to mixed reviews. Another film, Trust the Man, is directed by her husband, Bart Freundlich, and also features her son, Caleb.
In March 2006, it was announced Moore would make her Broadway debut in the world premiere of David Hare's new play The Vertical Hour. The play opened in November 2006 and was directed by Sam Mendes. She most recently appeared opposite Nicolas Cage and Jessica Biel in Next, a science fiction action film based on The Golden Man, a short story by noted author Philip K. Dick.

“That was the day I stopped believing in the wild ardor of things. Perhaps in love, as well. That kind of love. The love in books and films. The love that tells us to abandon our lives and plans, all for one brief touch of Venus. So often we fail at that kind of love. The world just seems too fragile a place for it. And of every other kind, life remains full. Perhaps it's just we who are too fragile.”
Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven, a homage to the 1950s melodramas of Douglas Sirk, is an exquisitely crafted film of beauty and grace. The world that Haynes creates is so meticulously detailed that one almost forgets that the movie isn't fifty years old.
Julianne Moore deserves her Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Cathy Whitaker, a homemaker whose idyllic life begins to disintegrate when she learns that her husband is gay. Moore's Cathy is a delicate woman who would like to be courageous, but can't be because of the world that she is trapped in. As her innocence begins to die, she realizes how empty and superficial her life is. When she begins a cautious romance with her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert) she begins to see the racism and hypocrisy that forms the underbelly of a seemingly perfect world. At the end of the film Cathy has no illusions, and realizes that the life that she thought was perfect is actually a never-ending hell.
Dennis Quaid is equally stunning as Cathy's tortured husband Frank. After Cathy discovers his homosexuality, the two are forced to grapple with a truth that neither of them can comprehend. Frank goes to a doctor for "treatment," and his confession is heartbreaking. He says that he "can't let this thing, this sickness, destroy my life. I'm going to beat this thing." We look at Frank and pity him because we realize that such a feat is impossible, and unnecessary, but Frank does not possess that knowledge. Frank begins to drink more, and when he finally breaks down and tells Cathy that he has fallen in love with another man, all of the anger, shame, and joy comes pouring out of him all at once. It is a supremely moving moment, and the best performance of Quaid has ever given.
As the marriage between Cathy and Frank begins to unravel, the two also begin to fight.
All of Cathy and Frank's arguments and confessions take place at night, bathed in shadows. The truth has no place in this bright, artificial world, and it must stay hidden at all costs. One night, when Frank tries to make love to Cathy and can't, Cathy tries to placate him, saying that he is "all man" to her. At that remark Frank hits her, and for a moment the audience does not breathe. Cathy then asks quietly for her husband to get her some ice. Cathy is all restraints, and it is only with her kind gardener that she has a chance to break free. The scenes between Moore and Haysbert crackle with erotic energy because everything remains unsaid. When Cathy finally asks him to dance with her, it is a moment when we realize what human beings are capable of being together.
The fourth example of stellar acting comes from Patricia Clarkson as Cathy's best friend Eleanor. Eleanor is a bitter, gossipy, cold-hearted woman, and when she tells Cathy "I am your best friend," you want to scream to Cathy not to believe her. Clarkson makes the most of her rather limited screen time, and turns in a fascinatingly layered performance.In creating an artificial world, Todd Haynes has managed to lay bare the human soul in a way that has never been done before. It is a moving and important motion picture: we were, we still are, and will continue to be, very, very, very Far From Heaven… 9/10