Review: A Single Man

Tom Ford's debut as film director comes in the form of A Single Man,which earned its leading man Colin Firth an Oscar nomination,and a fair amount of critical acclaim especially considering that those who have been long-time experts in another industry,be it fashion,or as an actor,find a difficult time adapting to the director's seat.

I'm going to be really concise about this,because there isn't much to deliberate.Its a beautiful film,and if someone were to freeze each second of this film and turn it into a series of postcards,it would be the most amazing collection of postcards the world has ever seen. Tom Ford has of course,as a fashion director,revived Gucci and established his own presence with the Tom Ford brand,and his taste is undeniable: each scene is set to an illustrious backdrop,each piece of clothing seems suitable for a Vogue cover,and beyond this,each character below the age of 30,male and female,is intensely sexualized,often there are close-ups into a set of thick,bold lips or sharp cheekbones,and other luscious body parts. Everyone in this film looks the best they have ever been,Colin Firth is a lean and handsome,and though for the most part he looks overwhelmed and contained by grief and loneliness,when he smiles it brightens everything immediately,and Julianne Moore,is beautiful in a way that is cinematic and reminiscent of old beauties like Brigitte Bardot.The sad part about all of this is that,beyond its beauty,the film has not much else to show.

The film opens with a car crash,in which Colin Firth's lover is seen dead under an upturned car,and this is the tone set for the rest of the film-a character defined by his loss alone,we don't even get the time to understand their relationship,only given very broad details about it.And the conversations take on high-level philosophy,they muse about growing old,losing their dreams,being alone and feeling like they're mad,and all of this is so beautifully written,Nicholas Hoult (from About a Boy,and more famously,the British "we-are-all-so-fucked-up" teen-series Skins) holds his gaze straight and deep,utters his lines genuinely,that he more than holds up against a pro like Colin Firth,but everything is skimpy and impersonal,as a consequence the characters and their stories become generic,undifferentiated from any other story,Colin Firth is a man who's lost his lover,and nothing about this film tried to set him apart as special,or someone we could really get to know and begin to sympathize with.

So even with a running time of 101 minutes,A Single Man feels like a short film,a prelude to something bigger,but again,this is a film worth watching,it is a treat for the eyes,even if the music,close-ups and general editing sometimes make things too melodramatic,and insubstantial,like a perfume ad,but Tom Ford is definitely talented,if not very persuasive on his first film,but I expect we'll be seeing more of him in the future,and if not,he could make a lot of money shooting postcards.

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