February 8, 2010

TOM FORD | A SINGLE MAN

tom ford
Waking up begins with saying am and now. This is the first line of Christopher Isherwood's A Single Man and also the first line of Tom Ford's film based on the novella. It's a wrenching first-scene as Colin Firth's character George Falconer, learns of the sudden death of his long-time lover [played beautifully by Matthew Goode]. A Single Man is the most poetically captivating film I've seen since Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. And, Tom Ford's directorial debut is brilliant. Each scene, whether filmed as a flashback or not, translates like a memory—the light, the tempo, and depth of the moment. Each shot is precise, with intimate close-ups and ethereal pauses that are artful but never cliche. Colin Firth is hypnotic in his Oscar-worthy portrayal of protagonist George and Julianne Moore is amazing—with her tousled hair and cocktails—as a sixties divorcee and George's best friend, Charley. The George and Charley scenes magnify the core of each character's despair and loneliness and hold a visual aesthetic that I could watch again and again. Amidst the sadness, A Single Man delivers life-affirming moments—the "buttered toast" smell of a dog's head, and the sudden act of an owl taking flight as a metaphor for the clarity that awakens within George. It's a film about living in the moment and appreciating the small things in life—and it's excellent each step of the way.


Tom Ford with Julianne Moore, Paris Vogue, Feb. 2010 via English Muse

Production Company: Fade to Black, Depth of Field
Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult, Jon Kortajarena
Director: Tom Ford
Screenwriters: Tom Ford, David Scearce based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood
Producers: Tom Ford, Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano, Roberto Salerno with Jason Alisharan
Cinematography: Eduard Grau
Production Design: Dan Bishop
Art Direction: Ian Phillips
Set Decoration: Amy Wells
Music: Abel Korzeniowski, Shigeru Umebayashi
Costume Design: Arianne Phillips
Editor: Joan Sobel
Casting: Joseph Middleton

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing, Barbara. I really cannot wait to see this!

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  2. You will love it and the sets are perfection!

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  3. I feel like I'm the last person to see this movie. I've so wanted to see it & just need to do it especially after reading your terrific review Barbara. Thanks for your input, really appreciated. Thinking about you & wishing you a good rest of this week. x deb

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  4. Thank you Deb! You will love it... it's deeply moving and a visual gem. oxo B

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