A Single Man (2009)

(This is a "mini-review" of a film I watched months ago.)

Fashion designer Tom Ford does a marvelous job of transferring his eye for style from the runway to the movie screen with his directorial debut, A SINGLE MAN. The film centers around George, played in a revelatory performance by the wonderful Colin Firth. George is ready to end his life after hearing that his long-time lover and partner has died. A college professor, George is not out as a gay man to many people, and the film's early 1960s setting is a contributing factor to his "single-ness." His best friend, Charley (the always amazing Julianne Moore) is a great social distraction, but she's not really helping him heal, and that's not completely her fault.

The grieving George eventually takes some unexpected personal risks when a curious student in one of his classes tries to get closer to him. Firth plays all of these scenes with buttoned-up emotions and a rigid but calm exterior, which is all the more powerful when the cracks show.

I believe that an amazing cast can elevate an average movie to a greater one, and A SINGLE MAN has a great cast. But the director is no slouch, either. Though a film directing novice, Ford knows image, and it's also clear that he's a student of film history. My favorite thing about A SINGLE MAN, in fact, is the meticulous and studied frame composition and deliberate (sometimes mechanical) camera work. To an expert viewer, it might feel a bit too studied, as if directed by a film school student. But even if that's true, it's a great demonstration complete with the kind of emotion that can't be taught from a book. A SINGLE MAN is a moving and beautiful film.

4.0 out of 4