A Single Man: Colin Firth Delivers in Tom Ford's Directorial Debut

In Tom Ford's captivating directorial debut, Colin Firth plays a man caught between the content happiness of his past and the detached loneliness of his future. Loosely based on a 1964 novel by Christopher Isherwood, A Single Manfollows a closeted, gay college professor named George Falconer (Firth), who is forced to privately mourn the loss of his long-time lover (his spouse in all but name) Jim (Matthew Goode). Enveloped in despair and isolation, he sleepwalks through life, trying to move on in a world that will never be the same. As the opening scene so elegantly demonstrates, George is a man suspended not quite drowning, yet making no effort to come up for air. It is unfair and incorrect to label A Single Man as an explicitly gay film, as some have. The pain George experiences has little to do with being gay, and everything to do with being human, yet there's no doubt that George's homosexuality is at the forefront of the story. As a gay man in a repressed 1960s America, George's grief goes somehow unnoticed, remains invalidated, and has to be kept private from an unaccepting world. The film doesn't make an attempt to comment on the unfairness of it; rather, it simply explores the reality of it. And it does so exceptionally well. Only Charley (played by the always spot-on Julianne Moore), his boozy and self-centered confidant, best friend, and onetime lover, knows the real George. But it's a shallow knowledge. Her longing to be with George, a man she'll never have in the way she wants, keeps her from truly appreciating George's grief. How could two men have a real relationship, she wonders aloud? Isn't that kind of love just a substitute for something else? For the first part of the film dialogue is used sparingly, yet this is when some of the most emotional scenes take place. The scene in which George receives the news of Jim's death is particularly heart-wrenching and painful to watch: not only because he must deal with the loss of his love, but because he must face the fact that his grief and loneliness aren't and, never will be, accepted by the outside world. (Ten bucks says this'll be the scene they show at Oscar time.) He is literally being sentenced to a lifetime of loneliness and isolation. One can't really overemphasize the impeccable style and emotional agility of A Single Man. In his directorial debut, fashion designer Tom Ford has created a picture that defines visual perfection. George's black and white wardrobe and horn-rimmed glasses contrast strikingly with the lush green California landscape (separating him visually as well as emotionally from his surroundings). And with his eye for style, Ford makes use of a wide-ranging color palette - black and white for the past; soft, muted shades for the present; and flashes of vibrant color to mark moments when hope makes an appearance. The effect isn't exactly subtle, but it's still effective. He keeps the camera right in the actor's faces and focuses on their eyes, allowing viewers to get in the characters' heads experiencing their grief, yearning, desire, and even hope, right along with them. A Single Man is more than just a good looking and stylish movie: it's a detailed examination of love, desire, loss and mourning. Sound depressing? Well, it is. But there's also hope to be found here. Hope that even when the world is forever changed, a chance encounter, an unexpected connection, or two lonely souls passing each other in the night can offer a chance for a new life.

Rating: 9/10
Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult
Directed by: Tom Ford
Written by: Tom Ford & David Scearce
Runtime: 99 mins