A Single Man (2009)

A Single Man (2009) is Tom Ford's feature-film directorial debut based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. Colin Firth stars as George, the titular single man, a college professor grieving the death of his lover. Matthew Goode plays the perished soul mate, very much alive for us in well-placed flashbacks that appear almost seamless with the present, as George must experience him as well. Nicholas Hoult, so adorably (and, it kind of feels, criminally) grown-up, plays a student with a crush on George, innocently unaffected by his burgeoning manhood (and fuzzy sweater!). And Julianne Moore - ah, Julianne Moore - is beautiful as always as a mess-of-a-drunken-divorcee-socialite who hopelessly pines for George's romantic affection. Oh, and Margene is perfect as a 50's mother. George's conversation with the daughter is priceless.



I'll admit, I did not walk into the film with especially high expectations. I expected it to be pretty, maybe something a la Bruce Weber, whom I love, don't get me wrong. I knew it had received some critical acclaim, but I was not expecting the emotionally compelling and visually stunning film I watched.



First, it was very, very pretty. Set in the 60's, each detail is impeccable. The clothes, the hair, the furniture, the faded technicolor - everything was perfect. In that capacity, it will most likely be compared with Mad Men. But unlike Mad Men (meta alert: Don Draper makes an uncredited appearance), where the world is perfectly staged to reflect the inevitable downfall from the status of pretty and privledged, the 60's of A Single Man is already cracked, already exposed for its bias, already faded from the shiny glitz of glossy-magazine-ready lives. Even the film stock seems faded and old, as if this were a home movie,



It's beautiful in both its human and natural landscapes. The exterior scenes are really lovely, but it's the interior scenes that are most compelling, long close-ups of human faces lined with age (or not, in the case of some barely-legal characters) and sadness, painted, both literally (in the case of Julianne) and figuratively (in the case of George), to become something they're not. The cinematograpy and visual concept of the film is gorgeous. Eduard Grau is to be commended. As is Tom Ford. Not only is the film fashionable and lovely to watch, it's well-acted, well-edited, and well-paced. Exposition is concise and scenes are nice sketches of what one imagines to be a much larger, richer life. It manages to be both meditative and suspenseful, and the characters are sympathetic and, failing that, very, very pretty.



Yet, it would all be nothing if not for Colin Firth. What a pleasure to see him playing something more complex than the inevitable beloved in a romcom. He plays George with an impeccable dignity and a quiet sadness erupting barely below the surface. The sorrow etched onto his face is both strangely beautiful and oddly calming. He is at peace with his anguish, if you will, and is slow to realize the possibility of a different future for himself. The ending is bittersweet and charming and poignant. Not a comedy. You'll probably want a drink after. But authentically moving and beautiful.