A Single Man
Colin Firth, delivering the finest performance of his career, and Julianne Moore
Also In The News
|
By Matt Hallam. |  |
Monday, 08, Feb 2010 11:21
Directed by Tom Ford, out February 12th in cinemas, starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Matthew Goode, running time 101 mins.
What's it all about?
Set in Los Angeles in the 1960s, A Single Man follows a day in the life of gay British university professor George Falconer (Colin Firth) as he struggles to overcome the recent death of his long-time partner Jim (Matthew Goode).
As George battles to find meaning in his life again, he goes out of his way to shun any interaction with his friends and students. His close female friend Charley (Julianne Moore) and intense pupil Kenny (Nicholas Hoult) however refuse to allow him to wallow in self-loathing and despair, attempting to show him his life is in fact worth living for.
What the others say
We're always looking for those performances that truly define an actor, where we can sit back and simply watch the talent soar. For Colin Firth, A Single Man is that film - Los Angeles Times
For a gentle man who's lost his love, solitude has become a life sentence that simply must end. Firth makes that ache subtly, splendidly visible - Time magazine
So is it any good?
The decision by celebrated fashion designer Tom Ford to adapt Christopher Isherwood's novel for his first attempt as a film director was an inspired one and results are astounding.
Fully immersing himself into the story of an isolated man filled with pain and suffering, Ford brilliantly surrounds his emotionally-paralysed lead character in a constant explosion of sound and colour. At times his film resembles a music or art video, with the first-time director creating truly beautiful shots, including breathtaking close-ups of the actors' stunning features and striking swimming figures.
Colin Firth is superb as George, the gay professor failing to get over the death of his boyfriend of 16 years. He exudes loneliness, with the simplest of facial flickers or downward casting of his eyes displaying a thousand emotions. This is hands down Firth's greatest performance and the plaudits he has rightly received don't go far enough is celebrating this remarkable display of an actor truly hitting the top of his game.
Ford also deserves enormous praise also for his effort behind the camera. His use of colour throughout the film is staggering; the glowing orange/almost red tint of Kenny's skin, or George's whenever he's removed for his desperate cycle of despair, is astonishing and almost impossible to articulate. The set designs and character's outfits are also as stunning as you'd imagine from the man who single-handedly revived fashion giants Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.
If there is to be any criticism of A Single Man though it's that at times Ford becomes a little too focused on all that is beautiful, succumbing to slow-motion shots with repetitive strings a little too often. The final third of the film becomes so bogged down the pace slows to a crawl.
All is forgiven though when you arrive at the beautifully tragic ending. Ford and Firth deliver an emotional knockout in the final scene that will stay with viewers long after the film's haunting score drifts from their memory. A Single Man then is something of a modern masterpiece, a celebration of tragedy, emotion and style all brought together in the finest performance of the year.
9/10
Richard James