“A Single Man”

By Matt Duncan
Coastal View News

In his directorial debut, fashion designer Tom Ford shows a certain cinematic deftness that belies his lack of experience in film. “A Single Man” is a beautifully shot and wonderfully acted movie about George (Colin Firth), an English professor who is coping with the death of his long-time partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). Although the story develops perhaps too slowly—at a snail’s pace, really—the careful attention given to the aesthetic of each moment and each scene of this movie makes “A Single Man” a success.

George is a private, somewhat reserved man who is only brought to life by meaningful interactions with a few people—most notably, Jim. Thus, when Jim dies, George feels alone and in many ways bereft of vitality. The only living person who seems to be of comfort to George is his ex-girlfriend Charley (Julianne Moore); but even their relationship is strained by the fact that Charley is clearly still in love with George. Glimpses of color visit George from time to time, but such chimeras are promptly interrupted by golden yet painful memories of an older, better life. George’s mind and heart live in the past, and hence, have no dwelling in the present. Every moment is misery for George; each passing moment of his existence is more fragile than the one before it.

However, while George seems entirely oblivious to the world, others do their best to shake him from his reveries. Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), a college student enrolled in the class that George teaches, and Carlos (Jon Kortajarena), a male prostitute, take a persistent interest in George, despite his reluctance to form attachments. Kenny and Carlos serve to complicate the ominous plans of George, who cannot decide whether or not life is worth living. He is rendered inert by the past and has given up on the present, and so George has only the prospects of the future to consider. When each passing day is no better or worse than the next, George must ask himself: is the dim hope of tomorrow worth sticking around to see?

“A Single Man” is nothing if not beautifully composed. The fact that Tom Ford is a fashion designer truly shines through in this movie. The chic wardrobe, for example, or the jaunty posture with which Colin Firth walks, makes each scene distinctively hip and teeming with style. What is more, Ford adeptly applies his aesthetic eye to the cinematography of the movie in a way that is often understated but immensely expressive. Tight shots of an actor’s lips or eyes and gentle changes in the tone of the colors reveal more about the characters and the story than do any of the words.

Beyond the look of the movie, the acting is worthy of note. In particular, Colin Firth plays the part of a mourning yet dignified intellectual with the utmost ease. It is somehow easy to believe that Firth must really be George, if ever such a person existed.

If “A Single Man” has a flaw it is that the story lags. In fact, it is probably more accurate to describe this movie as a meditation on the emotional experience of loss rather than as a plot-driven narrative. There are certainly some interesting (and maybe even profound) ideas tossed about here and there, but it is clear that Ford’s primary goal is the achievement of a look or feel, and not the telling of a story or the communication of ideas.

Nonetheless, “A Single Man” is an interesting and gripping film that is truly a unique experience; it is a rather nice accomplishment for Ford in his first movie.