A Single Man

Writer/Director: Tom Ford

Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode, Ryan Simpkins

Running time: 99 mins

George Falconer (Colin Firth), a British literature professor living in Los Angeles in 1962, is struggling to find meaning in his life. In the case of A Single Man, an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel, the idea seems neither hackneyed nor overused as we follow George over the course of one day and actually see and respond to his struggle to find meaning. Ever since a car accident took the life of Jim, his lover of sixteen years (Matthew Goode), George has been on a desperate search for some degree of contentment, some sign that he can love again and will be loved in return. As yet he hasn't found it nor does it appear he will again. So much so that making use of the gun in the desk drawer becomes an increasing possibility.

The film marks the directorial debut of Tom Ford, the fashion designer and former creative director of the Gucci house. A Single Man would be outstanding even if it had been his twentieth film. It's a story of astonishing observation and poignancy, where beauty is found not only in the form of a face or the arc of an eyebrow, but also in the cold bleakness of a winter road, where pain and death give way to encounters of surprising tenderness. It's a masterpiece of character development and performance; every one of George's onscreen appearances, for example, is an opportunity for Ford to reveal more of him to the viewing audience, which is to say we never see him in an empty or extraneous moment. The dialogue is a perfect blend of insight, contemplation, and wit - one of those rare instances where every word is carefully placed yet strung together as naturally as normal conversation.

George is far from an uptight, pompous cliche, although he does give the appearance of being neat and orderly; always immaculately dressed, always articulate, always able to keep his things in their proper place. But within himself, he's a total mess, tormented by grief, loss, regret, and above all, fear - the fear of isolation, of growing old alone and forgotten. He finds some solace with his best friend and former lover, Charley (Julianne Moore), an ageing, hard-drinking English beauty who seems determined to wallow in her failures as a wife and mother. She pronounces at one point that, as wonderful as the love was that George and Jim had, it was probably just a substitute for something real. George vehemently disagrees, with understandable frustration, that what he and Jim had was very much real love and not a substitute for anything.

As the film progresses, a relationship develops between George and one of his students, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), who appears, at first glance, to be nothing more than an infatuated youth. But this would be a tedious film indeed if their interactions were entirely motivated by sex; there's undoubtedly a physical attraction, but ultimately, what they share boils down to the innate desire for meaningful human interaction, which works on a frequency entirely separate from sexual orientation. Kenny, though young, is remarkably insightful and may in fact be the key to George's emotional salvation.

George's memories of Jim - which pop up randomly, as they tend to do in real life - are vibrant and lush, warm and inviting, evocative of a committed, loving relationship. Compare that to the world George now sees: Faded and grey, cold and lifeless, dull and dreary. There are select moments, however, when the colours visibly amplify, as when he has a conversation with his neighbour's charming young daughter while waiting at the bank. As is the case with Kenny, this little girl gives George a much needed dose of social interaction.

In spite of George's orientation, A Single Man is not, as some would call it, a 'gay' movie. Its focus is on humanity, not sexuality, and that makes it all the more accessible to all audiences; it reaffirms that within all of us is the need to make contact with other people, sometimes for love, sometimes for a shoulder to cry on, sometimes for nothing more than simple conversation. A Single Man is a hugely relatable, touching, and even in the absence of big-budget visual effects, visually creative film. Its greatest achievement, perhaps, was the casting of Colin Firth, utterly convincing as a broken man maintaining a façade of serenity and togetherness. He gives an exceptional performance in a very fine film indeed.