A Single Man
Winnner, Best Actor - Colin Firth, Venice Film Festival
George Falconer (Colin Firth) is a 52-year-old British college professor struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters, ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim.
Member Reviews
I too was surprised how good it is - eagleeye
Very well done. Acting was nothing short of superb. Firth is so convincing. Sound, video, etc done to near perfection. Writing was award-winning IMHO. I don't recall this going to theatres but it certainly should have. The ending with Kenny was almost predictable but set up so I had no idea where anything was going. This stuff happens (older and younger men). All in all it was a film that I would view again in a year or so.....for me, that's rare.An Aching Man, with a Singular History - jack1
NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS!
In response to another reviewer, there's no noticeable flaw in this film. George Falconer has lived for many years deeply in love with his partner, Jim. Jim's recent sudden death has left him desperately alone, in a world that has grown altogether shallow in his eyes. One wonders how he has come to be teaching at a southern California university, where no one understands the essence of his words.
The action passes in a single day (as in Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" and, before her, Joyce's "Ulysses.") Early on, he unearths his handgun, which he then carries with him, contemplating suicide. He visits with his friend Charley (played by the incomparable Julianne Moore), an early love before he'd uncovered his true sexuality. Kenny Porter, one of his current students who senses his need and is attracted to him, seeks him out. Kenny, though he remains a sexual cypher, allows George to open himself up.
Throughout the day, George relives several scene of his life with Jim, which we see in flashbacks. These haunt us as they do him. The day ends unexpectedly yet somehow inevitably.
It needs to be added only that Colin Firth, as George, contributes an outstanding performance, by far the best of his acting career thus far, in what will remain for me an utterly indelible film.Achingly Beautiful - DannyN16
"Achingly beautiful" describes a lot of aspects of the film. Tom Ford made an aesthetically beautiful movie (no surprise given his success as creative director of Gucci and YSL). That job was made very easy by an aesthetically beautiful cast as well. But behind that beauty, there was very obviously a lot of pain that needed to be conveyed as well, and Colin Firth and Julianne Moore were unbelievably brilliant in their respective roles. Colin Firth is so... morose, I guess, in his portrayal, that it builds a sense of sadness in the audience. He did an excellent job portraying mourning. Colin Firth also does will with the physical comedy of one particular scene midway through the movie, but I don't want to ruin that for you. Both Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult are good as Firth's love interests, but for two different reasons. With Goode, you feel the chemistry and affection between the two characters. With Hoult, it's more of a lust that you feel, which is what should be happening, but it has more to do with the way Tom Ford lit and shot Hoult and the way that Firth reacted to Hoult that conveys this, as opposed to anything Hoult did. Julianne Moore is a beautiful breath of fresh air in the movie (though not a happy one) that livens up the movie at times, but ultimately, this movie belongs to Firth and Ford. This was a beautiful, picturesque film that I wouldn't hesitate to watch again.
Member Reviews
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I too was surprised how good it is - eagleeye
Very well done. Acting was nothing short of superb. Firth is so convincing. Sound, video, etc done to near perfection. Writing was award-winning IMHO. I don't recall this going to theatres but it certainly should have. The ending with Kenny was almost predictable ...An Aching Man, with a Singular History - jack1
NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS!
In response to another reviewer, there's no noticeable flaw in this film. George Falconer has lived for many years deeply in love with his partner, Jim. Jim's recent sudden death has left him desperately alone, in a world that ...Achingly Beautiful - DannyN16
"Achingly beautiful" describes a lot of aspects of the film. Tom Ford made an aesthetically beautiful movie (no surprise given his success as creative director of Gucci and YSL). That job was made very easy by an aesthetically beautiful cast as well. But ...