Song of the Day #1926

Song of the Day: Far From Heaven (“Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Elmer Bernstein, was the final film and the final Oscar-nominated soundtrack of Bernstein’s illustrious career. This 2002 film, written and directed by Todd Haynes, is an homage to the 1950s films of Douglas Sirk, exploring themes of race, class, and sexuality. With its sumptuous Oscar-nominated cinematography by Edward Lachman, the film starred the Oscar-nominated Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, and Viola Davis. Bernstein’s lyrical score harks back to those 1950s melodramas in a particularly poignant way.