Australian Penthouse

A Single Man

Director: Tom Ford
Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Ginnifer Goodwin
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Review: Suzan Ryan

THE design sensibilities of debut director Tom Ford (the creative magician behind the 1990s reinvigoration of fashion labels Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent) is undeniable yet wholly integrated and entirely relevant to A Single Man (adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel), which is set in 1962 California.

The recreation of America’s two identities—the fading memories of the post-1950s nuclear family rubs against the creeping influence of the beatnik artistic influences of the new generation—is interleaved to reveal a love story that is intimate, private, honest and without pretence.

College professor George Falconer (Colin Firth) wakes up in his minimalist Frank Lloyd Wright home, dresses in his perfect suit, buffs his shoes, straightens his tie and faces the mirror in an attempt to sell to himself a reason to live. George is devastated by the recent death of Jim (Matthew Goode, Watchmen), his partner of 16 years. Every waking moment reminds him of his loss. He packs a revolver in his briefcase with a resolve that says: Today I will live as I am expected, but tonight I will end this suffering.

With façade in place, George lectures to bored students about the merits of Aldous Huxley and how fear is the modern disease that is killing us all. His unedited and honest evaluation touches one student particularly, the earnest and fresh-faced Kenny (Nicholas Hoult, About A Boy). Kenny senses the fatalism in his teacher and attempts to make contact.

The bloom of his youth is aching, and the camera is infused momentarily with true colour, as are moments where humour, love and beauty temporarily enrich George’s life—most vividly in a scene were Spanish hustler, Carlos (Ford’s favourite ad model, Jon Kortajarena) attempts to pick up George outside a bottle shop: the pollution-pink sunset is jaw-dropping in its beauty.

In fact, colour is superbly imbued throughout the film by production designer, Dan Bishop (Mad Men). Bishop’s blossom-and-recede colour surges accent George’s state of mind, and his belief that in the world around him, beauty may exist everywhere, but inside it has been extinguished forever.

George’s best friend, the emotionally desolate Charly (Julianne Moore, Boogie Nights), attempts to support her old friend, but cannot come to terms with the fact that she too is alone and getting older; her verve and allure is more often lost to gin and bitter memories.

Finding meaning behind the era’s carefully constructed hair and make-up is as hopeless for Charly as it is for George. And it is the question of what exists behind the carefully layered construct of who we think we should be and who we really are—and how far apart we live between these two realities—that remains universal.

A Single Man is not a ‘gay’ movie; there are no sex scenes, there will be no discomfort for hetero men—in fact, discomfort comes solely from the nuanced alienation evident in Firth’s inspired (and Venice Film Festival award-winning performance).

Low on melodrama, anti-Hollywood and refreshingly European in feeling, A Single Man is a revelation: a love story without saccharine, a 60s memento without flash, and a study in how difficult it is to be a man, no matter what generation you’re born in.

A Single Man is released in cinemas nationally on 25 February

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