A Single Man (2009)

Based on the Christopher Isherwood novel of the same name, A Single Man, directed by first time director Tom Ford is the story of a middle-aged, gay British college professor who is on the verge of suicide after months of grieving for his lost love (Matthew Goode) who died in a car accident. Set in 1960s L.A., Ford paints a bleak view of the world through the eyes of George (Colin Firth). Actually, it is this bleakness that is probably the weakest aspect of the film. To be more specific, the direction of the bleakness is what hurts the film most. The film displays a use of color that draws a significant amount of attention to itself and most of what is shot in the present day is is filtered over with gray, giving off the appearance of black and white images. All scenes in the past, particularly those concerning the the dead love are shot with vibrant color while in the present day, color is used for a few fleeting moments of happiness and peace that gradually increase in frequency and duration as the plot unfolds. After the first twenty minutes or so, you can become more adjusted to such an eye-catching technique, but at first it's a bit distracting. The film is stylized enough as it is and this device seems a bit unnecessary. As mentioned before, this film is set in the 60s, so it almost seems obligated to be heavily stylized. Aside from the fashion and general look of the setting, it's as if the film needs to emphasize how it is a retro, art-house glimpse of the past.

The other significant attention-grabbing technique is repeatedly cross-cutting between the present day events and a scene in which George is naked and drowning, completely submerged in water. This scene is actually what opens the film. This however, is much more effective in the story, capturing the mind-state of the character. Part of, if not the predominate, reason that the film's style may be unnecessary for the story is that Colin Firth's performance is more than enough to convey what the character is thinking and feeling. The misery of living with a dramatic loss is seen so clearly on his face that often the voice-over narration isn't needed either. There is one scene in particular in which George recalls receiving the call that Jim (Goode) was killed. His reaction is underplayed and seems genuine. There isn't some immediate breakdown over the phone. Instead Colin Firth captures a feeling that conveys a person receiving news that they never want to hear and are forced to recognize as true. It's a heartbreaking scene and Colin Firth is what makes it (and the film as a whole) so powerful. It is one of the strongest, if not the strongest performances of his career. There are some other good performances as well, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult (you may remember as the boy in About a Boy) are both interesting as the love interests for George, but the strongest supporting role is probably from Julianne Moore, who plays his ex-girlfriend from Britain who also lives in L.A. It is interesting to note that both Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult are British actors and yet they play Americans in this film, while Julianne Moore, the only American in the cast plays a British woman. Overall, A Single Man is a very good film carried by strong performances, especially that of Colin Firth's. While it may be a bit too stylized of it's own good, at it's core it is a strong, personal drama about loss and a desperate struggle to cope with it.