A Single Man (2009)

Honestly, I think A Single Man was a film that was made with a philosophy behind it, that is exactly my kind of philosophy. A small contained character piece exploring ideas of grief and depression, demonstrated through a stylised and subtle way in a low-key small environment, timescale and approach. I don’t know if I necessarily enjoyed A Single Man, it’s a slow and upsetting study into the protagonist’s psyche after an accident where he lost his long-time partner. I definitely have a lot of appreciation for the film, it's clearly an off-beat debut film but it has a lot of craft and care put in it that pays off to an extremely upsetting and tough to watch film. I wouldn’t watch it again, it’s such a deeply sad film that says what it wants to say in an eloquent way and leaves the spectator to digest the film.

Tom Ford has put a lot of effort into the style of his film, from the very opening shot we establish the tone and the style immediately as a beautiful score plays over surreal imagery of a body underwater. There is this almost obsessive attention to detail that runs through the film, you can feel Ford’s active direction of the film as it happens. Now, this is a bit of a double-edged sword as it does occasionally result in a loss of impact due to the film feeling very manipulated and by no means a realist approach to filmmaking. It’s a confliction I have with the film, it’s a beautiful film that feels like there’s someone pulling the strings behind it, you lose immersion because you never qu9ite believe the world. It works for its intended approach, it’s a fantastic study and a beautiful film but there are several moments I wish were simplified to let the emotion set in properly. For example, a fantastic symbolic post-production technique is the fantastic use of colour grading, the film has this grey and dark colour scheme that whenever George has a moment of happiness the shot becomes brighter and fills with colour. It’s not subtle but it is an essentially genius idea to demonstrate the value behind the moments.

The narrative is very simple, it takes place over a small amount of time as George goes through several events after his boyfriend’s death. The plot has this underlying sadness in each scene, George has this intent to commit suicide that informs Firth’s performance through each and every scene, but Ford has clearly put effort into writing a character that doesn’t spend the film moping around, he explores the complexity of grief and depression. From meetings with an old friend with complicated histories to the pressures of responsibility. Firth is nothing short from incredible as the troubled protagonist, he manages to put across this complexity whilst making the audience feel so sympathetic towards him. He’s vulnerable as Firth plays with this idea of his formal exterior and the person beneath the upper-classman, which is a crazy difficult performance that is so perfectly done. The guest cast is really solid, with a surprisingly developed performance by Julianne Moore, she performs this façade of happiness to herself and Firth which makes her a brief but compelling character. Mathew Goode has a small performance in flashbacks as Firth’s boyfriend, the chemistry is strong between the two and there is a sense of understanding of George’s feelings through how well they work together in the flashbacks. The only character I don’t love is Nicholas Hoult, I just didn’t understand his character and he felt weird and misguided.

This is a beautiful film, a gorgeously crafted and ambitious film. I can’t comprehend the amount of effort that went into creating the art behind the film. Ford is clearly a perfectionist; his work can feel so inaccessible as it is exploring personal problems rather than focusing on a social or political point. Ford set off to make a film that explored the impact of grief, and he did with such care and passion that the film becomes almost forgettable. It does its job through and through, it has an incredible emotional impact, but other than that he beauty only stretches that far. Its self-contained and gorgeous but I wasn’t thinking about it much after my first viewing, that’s not too say I would definitely recommend it, it’s an incredible beauty to behold that I think everyone could see and appreciate.