A Single Man

After hearing so many good things about A Single Man, I couldn’t wait to see it.  All the praises are well deserved.

The Gist: After the sudden death of his lover, a closeted English professor is faced with the unending sadness of having to face his daily life on his own.

Fashion designer Tom Ford’s first venture into filmmaking is a verified hit.  His day job brings a very sophisticated attention to technical details to the fore: costumes, camera work, photography, makeup, set decoration, everything is highly stylized and perfectly in synch with the movie’s period.  But he also shows an incredible skill in directing his actors into giving memorable performances and in bringing the entire production together.

Julianne Moore is very good as the protagonist’s best friend and only line of support, but it’s Colin Firth who gives the performance of a lifetime.  It’s hard to state that Jeff Bridges (who won that year for Crazy Heart) robbed him of his Oscar since Mr. Bridges had never won himself, was awesome in Crazy Heart, and is an institution in the industry, but Mr. Firth’s win the following year for The King’s Speech was clearly to make up for his loss here (unarguably due in no small part to the gay theme).

The Bottom Line: A Single Man has an elegiac feel to it that pervades it with infinite sadness, but it’s also funny and sweet and will certainly keep you glued from beginning to end.  I can safely say that it’s a must-see movie for anyone interested in good films and one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

Grade: 9