A SINGLE MAN (12a) (USA)Wednesday, 21st April 2010Third up in the mini-season – and the most recent of these releases since it reached our screens only this year – is A Single Man, Tom Ford’s film version of Christopher Isherwood’s famous novella of 1964. It may or may not make it into Philip French’s Ten Best for 2010 but he was warmly receptive to it and even if some dissident voices have been heard almost everybody has been bowled over (myself included) by the Oscar nominated performance of Colin Firth. He plays the leading role of a gay professor, George, living in Los Angeles in the sixties and mourning the sudden death of his younger lover (Matthew Goode) who had been his partner for sixteen years. He can confide in one close friend (Julianne Moore), but otherwise the world of the sixties prevents him from acknowledging his loss to others (he has even been told by his partner’s family that he will not be welcome at the funeral). A pupil excellently played by Nicholas Hoult from About A Boy shows instinctive sympathy without knowing the facts, but George is feeling suicidal and may or may not act on that.
Tom Ford the fashion designer makes his directorial debut here and Mark Kermode has suggested that any criticism against the movie for looking too much like a fashion-plate must have been a pre-programmed response. Certainly any elements of that become irrelevant given the depth of feeling in the film and that, despite the excellence of the other players, brings us back to Colin Firth. The L.A. Times put it best : “We’re always looking for those performances that truly define an actor, where we can sit back and simply watch the talent soar. For Colin Firth, A Single Man is that film.”
(Programme note by Mansel Stimpson)
