A Single Man
2010 Academy Award Nominee - Best Actor (Colin Firth)
Sometimes life just isn’t fair. Not only is Tom Ford a supremely successful fashion designer and head of the Gucci fashion house, he has now turned his talents to film directing - with superb results. Based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood, the single man of the title is George (Colin Firth), an English professor at a minor Californian college. It’s 1962 and America is in the grips of Cuban missile paranoia. George, meanwhile, has his own troubles to deal with; he is still coming to terms with the death of his partner of 16 years, Jim, in a car accident. Because it is 1962, society still regards homosexuality as a dirty secret. Jim’s family refuse to invite George to the funeral, and George’s colleagues are unaware of his loss. Quietly devastated, George has to keep his grief a secret; with no-one to talk to apart from his old friend, divorcée Charley (Julianne Moore). Taking place over the course of one day, A Single Man follows George as he tries to cope with his grief; with pills, whisky, his obsession with routine and detail. His random encounters with a hero-worshipping student (Nicholas Hoult), his neighbour’s little girl, a handsome Spaniard, form the backbone of the film and ultimately lead George to question whether he can still find happiness or if the memories of the love he lost will prove too much... Given Tom Ford’s background it is perhaps unsurprising that A Single Man is sumptuously staged and gorgeously shot - it really is one of the most beautiful films for some considerable time. What may be more of a surprise is that Ford invests his story with wit and humour, immense intelligence and genuine heart, all reminiscent of the best of Douglas Sirk. And, in a performance which is both subtle and spellbinding, Colin Firth reminds us just what a good actor he is, playing George with an irresistible combination of charm, vulnerability, world weariness and sly humour. Surely deserving of awards recognition, if this doesn’t earn Colin Firth an Oscar nomination (at the very least), I’ll eat my Gucci loafers.
1 hour 39 minutes
2009
USA
What the critics say
Designer Tom Ford makes a surprisingly successful leap from the fashion industry to the big screen with A Single Man.
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What you say
Hmmm.... The film covers one day, just after the main character, George, has heard that his lover, Jim, has died. George is in mourning, but he still finds time to chat up a handsome Spaniard and later get into bed with one of his pupils from school. I
Colin Firth no longer is Mr Darcy or the bloke from Mamma Mia. A Single Man is a career defining performance for Firth. A strong debut for Tom Ford; ascetically wonderful and emotionally tender. This one will stay with you.
