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Fashion designer turned filmmaker Tom Ford lends his creative eye to Christopher Isherwood's celebrated novel of yearning and desire with considerable success. Like fellow artists Julian Schnabel or Steve McQueen, the debut director attacks the frame in a fresh and distinctive manner, enabling viewers a rare opportunity to luxuriate in thoughtful, deliberate composition. In many ways, A Single Man stands as a companion to Hayne's Far From Heaven, not only for its visual aesthetic but in tackling its core subject with clarity and strength.
Loss is again a catalyst and the impact is just as devastating. Social radicalism that would soon change the face of America had yet to arrive in a sleepy corner of Los Angeles, 1962. George, an ex-pat professor of English (Colin Firth), is suddenly and utterly alone after his partner of sixteen years (Matthew Goode) dies in a car accident. Unable or unwilling to speak his loves' name, George plans the only exit strategy he sees available. An old friend from London is unable to help (a splendid Julianne Moore in Redgrave mode); then an eager student (Nicholas Hoult) steps up to the plate and everything changes again.
A Single Man flirts with the precious and appears, at times, a little constipated by its own cleverness - certainly the end feels something of a cheat. Yet it is also a searing reflection of a period when men were socially awkward and gay men socially blocked. Clever men like George didn't stand a chance. Firth collected at the Venice Film Festival and deservedly so – it's his outstanding performance on which the entire film hangs. Always a considered actor, his subtly nuanced delivery is packed with jangling nerves and aching emotion, and is a perfect match to Ford's challenging style. A Single Man is considerably more than middle aged misery. It is a poignant examination of longing and grief and hope. It is a knockout.
// COLIN FRASER
Tom Ford has extended his role as the epitome of style in directing his first feature A Single Man, based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood. The film is a beautiful portrayal of a day in the life of a man, George (Colin Firth), who lost everything eight months earlier when his partner was killed in a car crash. What makes this story even more heart-wrenching is that the loss of his gay partner is not significantly acknowledged by family and friends.
Colin Firth recently played a grieving husband and father in Winterbottom’s Genova and it was this performance that had me thinking, Oscar. However, time moves on and it is possible that he may receive the gong for his performance as George. There are uncanny similarities in both films where he plays an academic grieving for the loss of a loved one.
Ford’s choice of Firth is an interesting one. Firth is, after all, not the hunkiest man on the block, but he does exude a quiet dignity. This is captured on screen in a flashback when George receives a telephone call from his lover’s cousin who breaks the terrible news of his partner’s death. His tears are right on cue and they exemplify a moment of perfection. The reason I say this is because the film is stylistically perfect.
There are not many characters in this movie, but Ford portrays the others in George’s life as a hard hearted, insensitive bunch. The nuclear family next door is represented by a homophobic man, a reasonably gentle wife, toy gun-toting sons and a daughter who reveals to George that, ‘Dad says you are light in your loafers.’ Is this to remind us that homophobia is, and always was, passed on from generation to generation?
George has a gal-pal, Charley (Julianne Moore), who is more than a confidante. We learn that in the past they had an affair and she is still carrying a torch for him. In a particularly depressing scene, Charley declares her on-going affection to George and makes a point of negating the significance of his sixteen years of happiness and commitment with his dead partner. Moore plays her role with utter conviction. It is uncomfortable viewing and goes to show how utterly deluded some people are when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of a person’s sexuality.
There are so many films that deal with the preparation of death and this is one of the best. It shows how despondent we can become when disillusioned with the human condition. Louis Malle was one of the forerunners with his film Le Feu Follet and like his main character, Alain (Maurice Ronet); Firth is ultimately fighting for the right to control his own destiny. However, as in life, we have to remember to be careful what we wish for, as it sometimes doesn’t work out the way we hope.
// SALT
moviereview colin fraser film movie australia review critic flicks