A SINGLE MAN
****
Director: Tom Ford
Screenwriter: Tom Ford
Principal cast:
Colin Firth
Julianne Moore
Nicholas Hoult
Matthew Goode
Country: USA
Classification: MA
Runtime: 99 mins.
Australian release date: 25 February 2010
Previewed at: in season at Verona Cinema, Paddington, Sydney
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.
Screenwriter: Tom Ford
Principal cast:
Colin Firth
Julianne Moore
Nicholas Hoult
Matthew Goode
Country: USA
Classification: MA
Runtime: 99 mins.
Australian release date: 25 February 2010
Previewed at: in season at Verona Cinema, Paddington, Sydney
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.