Movie Review: A Single Man

Tom Ford, one of the world’s most famous fashion designers, who saved Gucci from the brink of bankruptcy, is in his element directing this highly stylized feature film. We could all guess the movie would 'look' good. But with a masterful screenplay (written by Ford and David Scearce), together with Spanish cinematographer, Eduard Grau and production design by Dan Bishop (Mad Men), the movie is not just good, it is great. A Single Man is a very genuine look at loss and grieving and the loneliness that can permeate a person's life when their heart has been broken. It is one of the few films to treat the subject of grief without manipulating the audience. For anyone, gay or straight, who has lost a great love, the portrayal of anguish in this movie is palpable. George (a never better Colin Firth) is so lost in his grief over the sudden death of Jim (Matthew Goode,) his lover of 16 years, he is oblivious to the fact that the United States is at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is October 30th, 1962. While George is putting his affairs in order, getting ready to take his life, the news that this country is in the middle of the greatest confrontation of the Cold War and as close to Nuclear War as we have ever been, is blaring over the radio and on the TV. We may all be reduced to a cinder. But rather then diminish his experience; it makes it all the more poignant and all the more painful. The movie takes us through his quiet but eventful day where even breathing for George, appears difficult. As he crosses paths with a beautiful student (Nicholas Hoult), a stunning hustler (Jon Kortajarena - wow) and friend, neighbor and one-time lover Charley (Julianne Moore), we get a seldom seen look into the depths of sensitivity of a tortured soul. Pay close attention to the scene in front of the Hitchcock billboard. It is breathtaking. It goes without say, this movie is not for everyone. It is unapologetically, about a gay relationship. Ford, who is openly gay, does not indulge our societal hang ups. Try not to miss it.

p.s. The movie, based on the novel by the same name, was written by Christopher Isherwwod and is loosely autobiographical. He dedicated the book to Gore Vidal, a devout bisexual.