A SINGLE MAN
Tom Ford, the man who revived Gucci, has expanded into film, by choosing to direct an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel, A Single Man. Given the trajectory of Ford’s career, from self made design apprentice to creative director of a billion dollar company, it’s not surprising that he pulls it off, beautifully.
Christopher Isherwood, whose stories were the basis of the play, musical and film of Cabaret spent much of his early life in Europe until just before WWII. He emigrated to the United States, later becoming a citizen and settling in sunny Santa Monica. Much like the main character in the story, George, he had long term relationship (until the end of his life) with a much younger man and taught college. The story, though, is not his but rather presents the aftermath of death of one’s true love, and the devastating heartbreak that follows, especially when public grieving is not possible.
Colin Firth plays George in the film and he is superb, much deserving of the best actor award he received this past September at the Venice Film Festival. George lives in an exquisite, mid-century modern house, not too far from the beach. He’s tanned, relaxed, easy with his students...it’s a nice life. And then he get’s a call, that his partner Jim (Matthew Goode) has been killed in a car accident. From then on, we experience, via flashbacks, bits and pieces of their life together. But George can’t go to the funeral, he can’t say goodbye, he must suffer in silence, trapped, almost happily, by memories. George is so organized, disciplined and deliberate, that sets up his perfect solution to this emotional dilemma, almost to the last detail. But a boozy encounter with his old friend Charley (Julianne Moore) and the pursuit by a smitten student Kenny (Nicholas Hoult) interfere with his plans.
It will come as no surprise that the film is exquisitely designed and photographed. What was a surprise was that, apart from music which I would say is just a bit obtrusive at times, it’s an outstanding exercise by a first time, first feature director. Ford chose excellent material and then co-wrote the screenplay. But the novel is largely about memory, interior thought and feeling making it extremely difficult to adapt for the screen. I will repeat that Firth deserves any acting awards recognition he might earn for this performance because he’s the center, the reason to watch, the reason the film with it’s langorous pace doesn’t cause us to lose interest. He looks as ravishing as I’ve ever seen him, and I’m not one of those who thought he was the best Mr. Darcy who ever lived either in Pride and Prejudice or Bridget Jones’ Diary. He’s tended to play a lot of those upright English gentlemen types- he’s just got the perfect look but it’s best when it’s undermined (played for laughs in last year’s Mamma Mia) and of course in this tour de force.
When Isherwood wrote A Single Man he dedicated it to Gore Vidal another globetrotting, revolutionary, gay man, and the novel has been described as one of the best about gay love at the time. In our post-Stonewall days, there is still so much difficulty in dramatizing same sex relationships on screen, in bringing them out in the open, in actors being able to live open gay lives. To that end this film is a beautiful statement, a call for tolerance and acceptance and recognition of the way so many people live their lives.
A Single Man is now playing in theaters.
Produced and directed by Tom Ford; screenplay by David Scearce, based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood; Director of Photography, Abel Korzeniowski; music by Dan Bishop. Released by The Weinstein Company.
With: Colin Firth (George); Julianne Moore (Charley); Nicholas Hoult (Kenny); Matthew Goode (Jim); Jon Kortajarena (Carlos); Paulette Lamori (Alva); Ryan Simpkins (Jennifer Strunk) and Ginnifer Goodwin (Mrs. Strunk.)
