A Single Man - *** out of ****

"A Single Man" is a very smartly made, risky little film loosely based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The movie is written, directed, and produced by Tom Ford, a former Gucci fashion designer who helped to turn around the company's financial problems. Because the author of the book died in 1986, his original vision is not present, but that is by no means a flaw. Ford has a unique voice in the storytelling, juxtaposing beautiful imagery with excellent acting. What the movie was missing, I can't quite put my finger on, but if you're in the mood for something that isn't exactly mainstream, this may be a ticket worth buying.

Colin Firth is George, a depressed English professor who is still having nightmares from his lover's death, Jim (Matthew Goode from "Match Point," "Watchmen," and "Leap Year"). George is planning to kill himself, but the method he uses is very bizarre yet necessary for the storytelling. He teaches his English course, but instead of discussing the novel of which he assigned, he talks about fear. Fear of nuclear disaster, fear from politicians, fear of just living. A senior named Kenny (Nicholas Holt, working wonders) talks with him after class about how that day was unique. Kenny is obviously hitting on him, wanting to give him some pot to smoke, but George is somewhat reluctant, as he doesn't want to betray Jim, even though he died eight months ago.

George's only friend is the alcoholic Charley (Julianne Moore, absolutely sensational), who still clings to their experimental days in the past. George never exactly tells her about his homosexuality as his defense, but instead it becomes a human relation between the two. She spends her day getting ready to meet him with his bottle of gin, and we flash back to the rainy night when he was informed of Jim's death. The two actors have a certain chemistry that isn't sexual but can easily be mistaken for that. What they share is something much deeper, a friendship. Any more, I've come to realize that having great, loyal friends around is much better than a lover, and George seems to understand this as well. Charley doesn't.

Sure, with most stories, the plot is what keeps everything going, but what Tom Ford offers seems to be brush strokes of events as they fit into George's Friday. You can tell by the style of the movie that you aren't supposed to be absorbed in what's happening but rather how it's happening. The pacing is a little wacky as the movie has moments that border on thriller (certainly after watching the trailer you think that that's what you're in for), but there is no bomb underneath a coffee table in this movie. Instead, you're left to see the world as George sees it with vibrant colors accenting his past with dreary, muted earth tones shadowing the present.

Faces wax and wane in color, moments are slowed down, and there seems to always be an opera happening on the soundtrack. This is a movie that is designed which is certainly something audiences don't see every day. The style borders on over-direction, but what makes it a success is the quality of the performances. Given that this is a first-time writer/director/producer, there really is no way of knowing exactly what the final product will look like, but the entire cast and crew seem to be in the same film, always a good first step.

The literary themes overshadow the human interest part of George's decision to commit suicide, and that is a question that doesn't seem to have a steady answer. Why do people kill themselves? That is something that we cannot know as everyone that has is dead. It wasn't Tom Ford's intention to answer this question, but in feeling so detached from everything due to the style, we cannot get an effective glimpse into this difficult philosophical point. Maybe that's what I was missing here, an answer to an impossible question. Splitting hairs perhaps, I will say that the bottom line is that if you find deeper meaning in literature and want to be challenged, then by all means see "A Single Man."

Rated R for some disturbing images and nudity/sexual content.
Buy it here.