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A Single Man
When esteemed Gucci house designer Tom Ford
announced he was making the switch from high fashion to filmmaking, the
move was treated with some scepticism. He might be talented in the
dressmaking department, what did he actually know about cobbling a movie
together?
Happily the naysayers have been proven
utterly wrong, and Ford’s opus was one of the resounding critical
successes of 2009. Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood, A
Single Man has been written for the screen, produced, funded and
directed by the budding auteur, and the project is very clearly a labour
of love. Each scene – actually, each shot – gives the impression of
having been carefully crafted, and Ford cleverly manipulates colour,
light and space is what is ultimately an emotive and deeply compelling
character study.
Set in Los Angeles in 1962, the film
concerns a day in the life of George Falconer (Colin Firth), a college
professor struggling with the death of his long-term partner (Matthew
Goode) eight months prior. The fastidious Falconer grows increasingly
desperate as his day progresses and several times contemplates suicide,
ultimately saved, at least temporarily, by the attentions of his devoted
friend Charley (Julianne Moore), a budding friendship with one of his
students (Scrubs’ Nicholas Hoult) and a chance encounter with a
stunning male prostitute (Spanish model Jon Kortajarena).
Despite the occasionally bleak nature of
its subject matter, A Single Man is infused with a subtle humour
and remains a poignant and captivating film to the last. Firth is
entirely convincing as the piece’s grief-stricken protagonist, and the
story is both a poetic evocation of love and a solid condemnation of the
blatant manner in which same-sex relationships are marginalised.
Falconer carries himself with such dignity through his pain and Firth so
ably evokes the sense of loss and abandonment experienced by his
character that the viewer becomes more than simply a passive observer;
the emotions conjured are palpable, the sorrow all but tangible.
How Ford managed to inject so much vibrancy
into a film with such a weighty premise is testament both to his skill
behind the lens and the not inconsiderable talents of Colin Firth, who
puts in one of the performances of his career. Intersecting flashbacks
and vignettes round out the narrative, and despite its manipulation of
chromatics and linearity the film never feels contrived, its artfulness
remaining tasteful and intrinsic. The DVD release itself boasts
admirable visuals, a flawless 5.1 surround soundtrack and an excellent
half-hour Making Of, which features interviews with the director, star
and other key creatives.
A Single Man is a work of singular
beauty, and I for one can’t wait to see what Ford comes up with next.
This debut feature is, like one of his renowned designs, a work of
stunning elegance. |
