Monday, February 21, 2011

A Single Man

Directed by Tom Ford, Artina Films, 2009. Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and Matthew Goode.

Genre: Drama.

Question: Did you see The King's Speech yet? I assume you know that Colin Firth is up for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Well, last year he was up for the same award in A Single Man. (Based on the book by Christopher Isherwood)

A Single Man was a sweet film that shows one man in the final stages of grief after losing his long time companion in a car accident. This story takes place in the 1960's and shows a person who lost the love of their life and how secretly they have to hide their pain because their lifestyle wasn't seen as proper.
I have seen many of Colin Firth's performances prior to A Single Man and always thought he had the chops but he hadn't shown the range yet. But after seeing him in A Single Man I knew this man was a brilliant actor. He played the role with grace and gentility. You really feel this man's pain and his struggle of being alone, missing his partner desperately, and how he can't show or tell anyone.

Tom Ford -yes, the fashion designer - directed A Single Man and he proved he can take a scene just like a piece of fabric and design it from scratch to create something beautiful. His vision and attention to detail was a thing of beauty. And I will say some of the set designs - especially Charley’s (Julianne Moore) home - were stunning! Oh, the 60's furniture design was so fun! If you love mid-century architecture and design (Mad Men style) you will love the set design on A Single Man.

Although Colin Firth lost the Oscar to Sean Penn (Milk), I don't think anyone is going to beat him this year. If you haven't seen A Single Man yet, watch it before the Oscars so you can see how truly talented this actor is.

Rent: A Single Man

My favorite thing: Colin Firth and Charley's black and white dress.

My least favorite: my jealousy of Charley's home

Possibility of a sequel? No - great ending.

Did the previews ruin it or show too much? Not one bit.

Rating: R
Length: 99 minutes

Review: 7 out of 10

A Single Man - DVD
A Single Man - novel

Videos on Demand

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