The 1950s was a time of peace and plenty, but it was also a time of conformity. It was especially inconvenient to be female, gay, or black. In FAR FROM HEAVEN, characters struggle with all three. Cathy Whitaker's (Julianne Moore) life seems perfect. She lives in an immaculate, stylish suburban home with her husband and two perfect children. She spends her days caring for her family, organizing social events for her husband's company and for the community, and talking to her friends, whose lives all seem exactly like hers. Everyone knows the rules and the rules seem to work. But Cathy's husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) is struggling with his longing for other men and with the self-hatred it engenders. When he is picked up by the police, Cathy believes his story that it was a mistake. But then she decides to bring him dinner when he is working late one night and discovers him kissing another man. Frank goes to a doctor who is, well, frank about the likelihood of a "cure." And just as Frank needs an honest relationship, Cathy does, too. She begins to feel drawn to Raymond (Dennis Haysbert), her gardener, who is black.