Firth shines in A Single Man

In A Single Man, Tom Ford’s directorial debut, the ex-creative director of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent abandons the world of fashion and takes a crack at filmmaking. And it’s not a bad one.

Surprisingly, Ford immerses his audience not into a frothy Vogue spread, but into the troubling story of a middle-aged professor, George (Colin Firth), who loses the love of his life in a car accident. As if that wasn’t enough, George is also a gay man restrained by the Puritan mindset of the early 60s. Drowning under his facade of normalcy, George decides to end it all.

Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood, Ford’s film (and it is Ford’s film, as he also co-wrote and produced it) stalks George through his final day. But while Ford claims most creative titles, Firth is the one who steals the show.

Uncomfortably silent for most of the film, Firth’s George is nothing short of Oscar-worthy.

In many ways, George is a typical Firth role. A charmingly stuffy and learned Brit export with a hidden wild side, he is just a step away from the typical romantic lead. But what distances this from his Mamma Mia! role (aside from his newly regained Mr. Darcy physique) is an eerie, determined calm.

Watching George stoically plan out every detail of his death and burial, down to his Windsor knotted tie, is more than unsettling. It’s tragic. You simply can’t take your eyes off of the screen and off of George’s face. Will he go through with it? Will he not? That’s the beauty of Firth’s acting &-&- every twitch, every smile, every wrinkled brow tugs at your heart.

Aside from Firth, Ford also relies on a small but extremely talented supporting cast to carry his film.

Julianne Moore’s Charley, George’s visibly damaged best friend and neighbor, serves as a perfect foil for Firth. Alone in the world (aside from her ongoing supply of Tanqueray), Charley still hopes to bag a man, even if that man is gay.

George’s stalker student, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult) adds a layer of uneasiness to the film. As the maybe-gay, maybe-not boy with a student-professor fantasy, Kenny’s screen time is puzzling. At times creepy yet angelic, Kenny is simply too pretty (in his skin tight white jeans and fuzzy beige sweater) to be any real threat.

And perhaps that’s the only problem with the film &-&- it’s too pretty.

Even the lustful and supposedly grungy encounter between George and a Spanish James Dean-wannabe (Jon Kortajarena) felt more like a perfume ad than a sketchy pickup.

And don’t even get me started on George’s memories of Jim (Matthew Goode). Shot in soft-focus amidst scenic backgrounds, the memories are an idealized vision of love, all cozy and playful.

So is Ford the next great American director? Probably not. But there’s nothing wrong with a pretty movie, especially when it showcases such a performance as Firth’s.

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