Isolated and Alone

A Single Man is a film that I had not heard much about before I watched it.  I have, of course, been a huge fan of both Colin Firth and Julianne Moore for years so I was immediately intrigued about seeing them in a movie together.  This film is a superb character study that I thoroughly enjoyed.

A Single Man is the story of an English professor who is unable to cope with the death of his boyfriend.  I absolutely love the way the story of this film unfolds.  You truly get invested in these characters because it is such an emotional story.  I particularly liked watching the relationship between George (Colin Firth) and Kenny (Nicholas Hoult) unfold because while it is a romantic relationship, there is not much physical intimacy. There relationship is so carefully crafted, and it is quite beautiful.   This is an extremely emotional film that is driven by powerful performances.

Colin Firth plays George.  Firth displays quite the range in this film, occasionally almost moving you to tears with his performance.  You can see throughout the film that on the outside George is trying so hard to keep his emotions in check, but on the inside he is struggling to exist without his companion.  The scene where he learns of his boyfriends' death is so heartbreaking to watch because Firth displays so much emotion without saying a word.  This film reminds you that he has always been an Oscar-caliber actor.

Julianne Moore plays Charley.  I love her character because you are not too sure about her when we are first introduced to her.  However, it is quite wonderful to see George and Charley together because we see how close they are to each other.  Moore, as always, chews up every scene she is in, and completely disappears into character.  Her character represents the 1960's so well, right down to the clothing she wears.  I have said for many years that Julianne Moore is one of the best actresses working today, and her role as Charley is a perfect example of that.

Tom Ford is the director of A Single Man.  I love the way he frames the shots in this film because every frame gives us insight into the characters.  Even the dialogue scenes are filmed off-center, which makes them more interesting to watch.  I also love the cinematography in the film.  The use of color is extraordinary because for a majority of the film, we see muted colors that represent what Georges' life is currently like.  Then, whenever something that makes him happy comes into his life, we see the colors get brighter.  This is a superbly crafted film in every sense of the phrase.

A Single Man is a heavy film to handle, so you should know what you are getting into beforehand.  This is a very powerful film about love and loss.  If you are a fan of dramatic films with Oscar-caliber acting, you should definitely watch this film.