Julianne Moore and Colin Firth in A Single Man
Photo: The Weinstein Co.

Tom Ford's A Single Man is a fascinating film in that the effect it has on you is as singular as the title. It presents grand ideas inside it's extraordinary simplicity and asks complex questions that can be answered with basic human compassion. It's a film that is equally intimate as it is inviting. If it didn't lose a little of its luster in its third act it would have been a major contender for Oscar's Best Picture, but to say it is potentially one of the ten best films of the year isn't a bad consolation.

Colin Firth stars as George, a college professor who feels like he's drowning and is looking for reasons to live following the death of his longtime partner, Jim, played in flashback scenes by Matthew Goode. George, as we meet him, is an empty shell. He's preparing for school and says, "It takes time in the morning to become George." Such a character may have even helped Firth fill his shoes as both Firth and George are playing a role; Firth for his director and George for his students and peer group. However, it's when George lets his guard down that the meat of A Single Man begins to show.

The show-stopper comes in the film's second act when George has dinner with Charley, an old friend played by Julianne Moore who has problems of her own, but most of them seem to be drowned in alcohol and cigarette smoke. The past the two have is hinted at, but not expanded upon, however by this time you have already created feelings for these characters. You see where the film is leading and you don't like what's in the darkness around the corner. You see laughter between the characters and a moment shared. You wish it could go on longer, but have a suspicious feeling it will all come to a tragic end.

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