A SINGLE MAN (2009) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Tom Ford

Written by - Tom Ford, David Scearce (based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood)

Starring - Colin Firth, Julianne Moore

 

"TOM FORD's feature debut A SINGLE MAN talks about a man's inability to cope with his boyfriend's death a year after his sudden death. 

The film's interest is deepened by the fact that it taked place in New York in the sixties, at a time when homosexuality was still consdiered by many as being taboo. But the examination of the LGBT issues of the story do not overtake the human outlook on its leading character, whose psychological ordeal also serves a purpose in representing the more general issue of depression in a powerful and harrowing way. This is reflected by the sophisticated stylistic construction of the film, limpid and detatched in both the movements of the camera but also in its editing, that favours a slow and contagiously affecting pacing that draws you into its atmosphere. 

COLIN FIRTH is excellent in the leading role, and his every look conceals pain, often cleverly disguised by a sauvant charm, which occasionally erupts. 

Occasionally, some of the flashbacks and some of the screenplay's exposition dialogue can be a little overbearing. But overall, this is a fine melodrama."

 

Drama, USA