Tom Ford’s A Single Man is a fascinating film in that the effect it has on you is as singular as the title. It presents grand ideas inside it’s extraordinary simplicity and asks complex questions that can be answered with basic human compassion. It’s a film that is equally intimate as it is inviting. If it didn’t lose a little of its luster in its third act it would have been a major contender for Oscar’s Best Picture, but to say it is potentially one of the ten best films of the year isn’t a bad consolation.
Colin Firth stars as George, a college professor who feels like he’s drowning and is looking for reasons to live following the death of his longtime partner, Jim, played in flashback scenes by Matthew Goode. George, as we meet him, is an empty shell. He’s preparing for school and says, “It takes time in the morning to become George.” Such a character may have even helped Firth fill his shoes as both Firth and George are playing a role; Firth for his director and George for his students and peer group. However, it’s when George lets his guard down that the meat of A Single Man begins to show.
The show-stopper comes in the film’s second act when George has dinner with Charley, an old friend played by Julianne Moore who has problems of her own, but most of them seem to be drowned in alcohol and cigarette smoke. The past the two have is hinted at, but not expanded upon, however by this time you have already created feelings for these characters. You see where the film is leading and you don’t like what’s in the darkness around the corner. You see laughter between the characters and a moment shared. You wish it could go on longer, but have a suspicious feeling it will all come to a tragic end.
Unfortunately, I felt the film betrayed the trust it had built with its audience in its third act. In an effort to stay clear of spoilers I won’t go into detail, but will say the film takes on a much larger metaphorical approach as compared to the much more emotional and straight-forward approach used to that point. Fortunately, the character Ford and Firth have conspired to create is so likable and fully fleshed out you can’t help but feel for the man and hope for the best.
Firth can absolutely do no wrong in what is easily the best performance I have seen him in.
“It actually hurts to wake up,” says George early on and you feel that and you see his pain on screen as his mood changes are reflected in Ford’s ever-changing color palette. Matthew Goode in just a handful of flashback moments is able to convince us there was actually something between these two men, turning the relationship into something more than a mere mentioning, and making it a reality. And Julianne Moore as Charley is no slouch either, donning a British accent as she, and commanding our attention during the limited amount of screen time she’s given.
Set in Los Angeles in 1962, A Single Man is so secluded and quiet you occasionally forget what’s going on in the background, but once you are reminded the weight of the story being told increases and at times it can feel like a lot as the emotional toll of the primary story weighs on your mind.
It’s not perfect, as my concerns over the film’s finale do set it back some, but as a debut feature for Tom Ford, best known as the fashion designer that brought Gucci out of bankruptcy, this is an excellent coming out party and I only hope he manages to do it again his second time around.
