David O'ConnellA Single Man
February 11th 2010 03:40
Tom Ford’s artful adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s acclaimed 1964 novel can best be described as the intimate portrait of a grieving man. But adapting a slender piece of literature with the thinnest of plots presented former influential fashion designer Ford with his most daunting challenge: how do you provide a single day in the life of a man with compelling cinematic dimensions? It’s a credit to this talented first-time director that he’s been able to pull it off, though the casting of Colin Firth was undoubtedly a masterstroke.
It’s Los Angeles in the early 1960’s and University professor George Falconer (Firth) is struggling to come to terms with the death of his younger lover of 16 years, Jim (Matthew Goode). Trapped in a kind of suspended animation, he can barely muster the energy to go on living. Often lost in his reveries, he determines to make this arbitrary, singular day one of vital significance. Not a lot really happens, but his smallest interactions with a student, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), boozy best friend Charley (Julianne Moore), even an attractive stranger, Carlos (Jon Kortajarena), take on curious importance. What really charges the film, providing its hypnotic, dreamy spell, is the way in which Ford’s insinuations give all these moments nuanced, meaningful connotations.
A fascinating stylistic choice is the subtle use of colour as a signifier of George’s internal status. The pall cast by the film’s gentle sepia-tone is often slowly infused with brighter shadings when George makes contact with random people, such as his neighbour’s daughter or an administrative assistant. In these flickering, minutely-observed interrelations, with their slickly edited close-ups of facial features, it’s as if the imprint of death is momentarily bleached from George’s dying spirit. It’s a daring example of creative manipulation but pulled off with enough subtlety that it avoids distraction.
For much of the film's length there’s the feeling of counting down to something momentous but the story cleverly subverts expectations, giving it a refreshing sense of unpredictability. Firth carries the film on his shoulders, sublimating his persona beneath the character of George to an almost frightening degree. This is unquestionably the high point of his career so far. The flashback scene in which he learns of Jim’s death is a powerful moment. With the compulsion of a voyeur we witness this man's world being rocked to the core; the point at which an internal meltdown begins as he tries to process the devastating news in those raw, first few minutes.
The flashbacks with Jim, though brief, manage to create a palpable sense of the bond between the two men, and Goode’s presence is a strong one. Moore, off-putting English accent and all, has a field day as the pathetic Charley, surviving on vices alone whilst living in a palsied state of self-pity and delusion. Youngster Hoult, as the student who probes George’s life with a youthful, strangely erotic fascination, gives a potentially star-making turn.
A tangled series of impressions and memories, interweaving past and present, give the film a poetic power that would almost certainly be lessened by a more straightforward approach to the material. A Single Man is a moving, occasionally haunting film. The score by up-and-coming Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski is a very classy contribution and ably complemented by Shigeru Umebayashi’s melancholy ‘George’s Waltz’.
Though flirting with greatness, via isolated moments that ring with a clarity of vision, A Single Man doesn’t quite reach classic status. It is a moving, occasionally haunting film however and you’ll probably see no better performance than Firth’s this year. Ford’s beginning as a director is one filled with real promise, revealing him as an idiosyncratic stylist.
Watch the trailer here.
It’s Los Angeles in the early 1960’s and University professor George Falconer (Firth) is struggling to come to terms with the death of his younger lover of 16 years, Jim (Matthew Goode). Trapped in a kind of suspended animation, he can barely muster the energy to go on living. Often lost in his reveries, he determines to make this arbitrary, singular day one of vital significance. Not a lot really happens, but his smallest interactions with a student, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), boozy best friend Charley (Julianne Moore), even an attractive stranger, Carlos (Jon Kortajarena), take on curious importance. What really charges the film, providing its hypnotic, dreamy spell, is the way in which Ford’s insinuations give all these moments nuanced, meaningful connotations.
A fascinating stylistic choice is the subtle use of colour as a signifier of George’s internal status. The pall cast by the film’s gentle sepia-tone is often slowly infused with brighter shadings when George makes contact with random people, such as his neighbour’s daughter or an administrative assistant. In these flickering, minutely-observed interrelations, with their slickly edited close-ups of facial features, it’s as if the imprint of death is momentarily bleached from George’s dying spirit. It’s a daring example of creative manipulation but pulled off with enough subtlety that it avoids distraction.
George (Colin Firth) with Charley (Julianne Moore)
For much of the film's length there’s the feeling of counting down to something momentous but the story cleverly subverts expectations, giving it a refreshing sense of unpredictability. Firth carries the film on his shoulders, sublimating his persona beneath the character of George to an almost frightening degree. This is unquestionably the high point of his career so far. The flashback scene in which he learns of Jim’s death is a powerful moment. With the compulsion of a voyeur we witness this man's world being rocked to the core; the point at which an internal meltdown begins as he tries to process the devastating news in those raw, first few minutes.
The flashbacks with Jim, though brief, manage to create a palpable sense of the bond between the two men, and Goode’s presence is a strong one. Moore, off-putting English accent and all, has a field day as the pathetic Charley, surviving on vices alone whilst living in a palsied state of self-pity and delusion. Youngster Hoult, as the student who probes George’s life with a youthful, strangely erotic fascination, gives a potentially star-making turn.
Matthew Goode as Jim
A tangled series of impressions and memories, interweaving past and present, give the film a poetic power that would almost certainly be lessened by a more straightforward approach to the material. A Single Man is a moving, occasionally haunting film. The score by up-and-coming Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski is a very classy contribution and ably complemented by Shigeru Umebayashi’s melancholy ‘George’s Waltz’.
Though flirting with greatness, via isolated moments that ring with a clarity of vision, A Single Man doesn’t quite reach classic status. It is a moving, occasionally haunting film however and you’ll probably see no better performance than Firth’s this year. Ford’s beginning as a director is one filled with real promise, revealing him as an idiosyncratic stylist.
Watch the trailer here.
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Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
I don't mind Matthew Goode either, though I couldn't stand him in Watchmen. Can't beat Firth here, it's an Oscar-worthy performance to be honest.