Directed by:
Tom FordCinematography:
Eduard GrauCast:
Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode, Jon Kortajarena, Paulette Lamori, Ryan Simpkins, Ginnifer Goodwin, Teddy Sears, Paul Butler (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
A SINGLE MAN is based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, it is the story of a British college professor (Colin Firth) who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner. The story is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (7)
A gay Vertigo by Tom Ford? While watching Single Man it may seem that it is not sufficiently rich in content and that it is made interesting only by the polished filmmaking and Colin Firth’s excellent acting. After all, it is merely a story about the protagonist’s fumbling around following the loss of the one closest to him, with flashbacks to nice moments in the past, which can come across as kitschy. With the passage of hours and days, however, the film is growing on me as an original creative work with a well-thought-out ending and nice, truthful thoughts in the main character’s monologues. The psychological study of that character in a crisis situation is the heart of the film, while the deeply felt music is its lungs. In the scene that starts in front of a billboard for Psycho, Umebayashi even employs a variation on Herrmann’s “Scotty Tails Madeline” from Vertigo.
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That movie has a lot of elements that I shouldn't like, but I can't help it - I watched every detailed shot with delight. Yes, at first glance, it seems like the form is the main focus, the camera work with its penchant for close-ups and filters, but there's also content here that fits perfectly with the era. The main ace, however, is the performances, especially those of Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, who I keep liking more and more.
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My tolerance for the aesthetics of the sixties has a limit, and once again it has been severely compromised. What does it matter that Firth is perfection itself and Julianne can convincingly blend in with all eras of history...? The sensual images of the former fashion designer oscillating between pop art canvases and the suffocating sexual frustration of the generation of the time may have something to them, but in this case, less could be more.
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I couldn’t believe Tom Ford is American, because he nailed the dry, precise, aristocratically detached British style of this film almost to perfection. That, together with the breathtaking formal style (beautiful production design, filters) and the excellent Colin Firth form the backbone of this lonely, bitter drama about a man who could have had it all, but instead only confusedly searched for himself. Outwardly aware and detached, inwardly torn to shreds, a role tailor-made for Firth. It's hard to criticize and look for flaws, maybe only a lot of long passages and not all of them are entertaining, the vague gay parallel that didn't even need to be there so vehemently, the reproachful Julianne Moore. But anything where the lead is alone is great. Amazing music.
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The sentiment of Falconer's memories and the sudden flare-up on the threshold of complete and devastating solitude is bearable, even suggestive within the limits of possibilities. Ford's picture needs less fashion design and more poetics. Paradoxically, for all the visual arrangement and modification, Ford somewhat misses in front of the camera what Firth's hero has to give – impulsiveness, perspective, and unpretentious tragedy. It's as if a real person is dealing with an ironed mannequin, and the power of the story has meanwhile faded into rigidity.
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