Saturday, January 30, 2010

A Single Man (2009)

The expectation: I did not really know a lot about this film before I saw it. It was at the independent theater I frequent and it happened to be starting when I passed by. Colin Firth is a gem so I just went with it!

The result: This is the most beautifully tragic film I have seen in a long time- the kind that make me want to go home and cry for these fictitious characters. Alas! This film is all Colin Firth and the director Tom Ford. This is Ford's first film and it is absolutely brilliant. Apparently, Ford is a fashion designer who ran Gucci to astounding success and then decided to make a film? Anyway, this film is a real challenge. Firth plays George, a gay man who recently lost his partner of 16 years to a tragic accident. Set in the 60s in California, George grieves throughout the entire film and Ford's hauntingly slow pace and use of color makes you feel every single second of George's pain. Moments slow down and fade when they are difficult, while the film literally shines during small moments of content, of happiness, of life. On top of the crippling weight of grief itself, George is also positioned in a place of deep silence; he cannot share his grief with the public- there is no communal outlet for support, no social space for healing. Ford's style makes the viewer feel this deep, raw grief in a way in which I have not done so before. Although I have never experienced this specific pain, I now feel that I have a very tiny, tiny grasp of it. Well done!

What to look for:
The pace of personal grief, the slow moments and the use of memory.
The brilliance of color- it corresponds to emotional states.
California in the 60s. Oh, those gorgeous cars.
George's house is an architectural and historical marvel.
For some reason, I still cannot stand Julianne Moore.

Flickr photo by MissTurner

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