A Single Man (Drama)

So I was hoping to write a lighter, more jovial review this week after Dad gave me some feedback - he loves reading my blog but always feels emotionally exhausted afterwards! So for you dad - I had planned to lighten the mood this week but it's hard to do so when the main character is meticulously planning his suicide.

Colin Firth stars as George Falconer, an English Professor who is based at an LA college but is a native Englishman. George is "a little light on his loafers" - as described by a neighbour - and has recently suffered the loss of his partner after 15 years. The film chronicles George's "last day" as he goes ahead with his typical routine and social obligations even though he plans to commit suicide at the end of day. If you haven't already drawn this conclusion yourself - George is a bit of a strange character but he's in good company - all of the characters in this film are strange. His best friend, and once girlfriend, Charley (convincingly played by Julianne Moore) is a complete drama queen and despite their close and long term friendship, is still wrestling with her unresolved feelings for George. Another notable performance is by Nicholas Hoult (who has grown into his looks considerably since he was in 'About a Boy') and plays a curious and strange student called Kenny.

If I had to use one word to describe this film I would choose 'beautiful'. Absolutely beautiful.

Now I'm aware that I might be at risk of sounding a bit 'sophisticated' with that assessment. And I promised I wouldn't comment on the more 'sophisticated' aspects of film making in this blog, such as Director's backgrounds, the artistic nature of the shots, or the musical score. But in discussing 'A Single Man' it would be remiss of me not to comment on all of the above. So bear with me for a second while I deviate from my unsophisicated ramblings to explain why. The film is Tom Ford's directorial debut and his fashion background is evident in every scene. I remember feeling frustrated at first (which I'm sure was largely due to the fact that some inconsiderate woman had decided to bring her crying baby to the cinema) but also due to the lack of conversation during the first half of the film. But before I knew it, Mr Ford had me hooked as he told the story simply through the presence and absence of music, the presence and absence of colour, and the perfectness of each shot. In fact, some of the most memorable scenes for me were those that were simply stunning to look at but during which very little happened for example, when George is at the bank and his neighbour's daughter appears in front of him in a vibrant blue dress and matching shoes. Or when Charley opens the door to George as he arrives for dinner and they meander slowly down a hallway absolutely filled with lights and flowers.

But back to my unsophisticated commentary: In some ways this film was hard for me to connect with given the weighty premise - personally I find it hard to identify with suicide at all - but this is a film about something we can all identify with. The need to connect with someone.

'A Single Man' is a reminder that no matter how down one gets, a connection with a single random person can immediately pep you up, or even completely turn things around. It made me think about how often one day can be the difference between happy and sad, between confusion and clarity, between feeling disconnected or feeling a part of something. And ironically, those days when we're less likely to engage in a conversation with the shop assistant, or to chat to the taxi driver, or to accept that invite from the next door neighbour, are the days when we're probably most in need of a connection. But George is missing one particular connection so badly, that he hardly notices how often throughout the day people try to connect with him, like the Spanish model from Madrid who tries to pick him up in the carpark of the liquor store, or his friendly neighbour, Mrs Strunk (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) who invites George over for diner despite her extremely homophobic husband.

Another part of the storyline that I think people will be able to relate to is George's search for 'clarity'. One of the less constructive characteristics of our generation is our consistent yearning for things to be clearer - Am I on the right track? Am I making the right decisions? Am I where I'm supposed to be for now? - and yet those moments when everything makes perfect sense, when everything is as it should be, are actually few and far between. And rather than feeling unfulfilled because these moments of clarity aren't more frequent, we should be grateful because that's exactly what keeps us going - the idea that tomorrow might make a bit more sense. One of my favourite speeches in the movie is a soliloquy by George as he's pondering on this apparent contradiction: "A few times in my life I've had a moment of absolute clarity....and I can feel rather than think...I have lived my life on these moments. I can never make these moments last. I cling to them but like everything they fade." This speech gave me goosebumps. Listening to George even gave me a moment of clarity. Thank you George.

Some might find 'A Single Man' a little slow, but I was so wrapped up in the music, the colour, and the fashion that I didn't notice the time go by. And while this film is definitely not for everyone, it might be worth seeing for Colin Firth's performance alone. Furthermore, the film is a great reminder that you don't need a clever, loquacious script to make an impactful movie. And whilst I really enjoyed myself while the story was being told, it was one of those movies that felt so much more powerful at the end, rather than on the way through. Which is such a fitting message for George's journey: that along the way, life can be underwhelming, but there are times where everything is so crystal clear it can be almost too beautiful.

• Tom Ford financed the film himself
• The film was shot in just 21 days
• In his acceptance speech for the BAFTA Best Actor award in February, Colin Firth said that he was planning to turn down the part and had an email waiting in his outbox to send to Tom Ford, but then he got distracted when the fridge guy arrived which caused him to rethink his decision. He thanked "the fridge guy" in his speech!