A Single Man - a film review

Although Tom Ford's A Single Man could easily pass for a stellar Gucci commercial, the designer's first film is nothing short of a superb cinematographic debut.

 

Based on Christopher Isherwood’s short 1964 novel, A Single Man presents the universal subjects of love and loss with a great deal of sensuality, romance and compassion. Ford turns the simple narrative of one day in the life of George Falconer, a British middle-aged literature professor into a glamorous and deeply emotional portrayal. 

Set in 1962 Los Angeles, the film is shot from an intimate point of view of George Falconer, with camera following his gaze, slowly shifting from the glossy looks of George’s lost younger partner, Jim, to George’s own  impeccable dark suits, followed by detailed shots of black eye liners, big hair and high-cheek bones of women, and cigarette smoke populating George’s world.

 

A Single Man follows George on his last day, as he plans to take his own life, methodically laying out his funeral papers, stylish suit, new shirt, tie, cufflinks, shoes and notes to friends left behind after his death. However, when it comes to shooting himself, George is hesitant because he cannot fathom splattering his office or bed with blood. What happens next is a rather humorous melodramatic chase around inevitable death, which eventually catches up with George when he least expects it.

Colin Firth’s performance as professor George Falconer is outstanding.  He managed to convey the complexity of George’s personality as an aloof Brit who is faultlessly tasteful and reserved, and therefore, is unable to openly grieve the loss of his gay lover in a 1960s environment of contemptuous Los Angeles, where he can only be himself with his old friend from London, Charley.

Ford certainly contributes to this film as a gay director, paying homage to the male form and the panache of 1960s as his camera glides over tanned male bodies and impeccably dressed men and women. Despite the highly stylized details, nothing in the film distracts from the sympathy for George as a man suppressing his grief while being unable to hold back his thirst for life, beauty and love.  

Ford conveys George’s emotions through camera fading in and out of color as George regresses between present and memory. His late partner is always depicted in warm welcoming hues, while George himself often fades to black and white, into existence deprived of color, resembling an old Polaroid shot from the 1960s. Every time someone interrupts the tedium of George’s reality, the world on screen turns back to color. Also noteworthy is the ticking clock metaphor, which accompanies George throughout the film while he broods on the past life with Jim.

 

This film is intricate, delicate, and real.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars.