CINEMA: A Single Man

At long last, this is the film that is finally bringing Colin Firth the praise he really deserves as one of Britain’s most accomplished, but unsung acting talents.

Based on a Christopher Isherwood story and lovingly, reverently directed by fashion designer Tom Ford, A Single Man is a story of love, loss, mourning and eventual reconciliation of one man with his lot.

Set in 1962 in southern California, Firth plays English professor George, still trying to come to terms with the loss of his gay lover Jim (Matthew Goode) in a car accident. George is ostensibly living a straight life, although there are those around him who have their suspicions. The one person who definitely knows about his sexuality is his long-time friend Charley (Julianne Moore) who still wishes they could have been an item and had a family. But George knows in his heart that Jim was the love of his life and unable to face existence without him, decides to kill himself.

He meticulously plans out his last day, tying up loose ends, setting his affairs in order and making his peace with those around him. But then fate intervenes in the unexpected shape of his student Kenny (Nicholas Hoult) who makes George realise his life may yet be worth living.

Much has been made of the look of this film with Tom Ford’s exquisite taste evident in every knot on every tie, every beautifully tailored suit and even in the architectural delights of George’s home. But even if you stripped this film bare of all its locations and props what would still stand is the perfectly understated performance from Colin Firth. This is a man who deals with his grief in silence, whose outward urbanity and old-world manners screen a heart that has been shattered and is in disarray.

It is Firth’s ability to convey this inner turmoil while keeping his exterior so calm and composed that makes his performance so compelling. He is ably backed up by Julianne Moore whose Charley is a well-meaning mess, and especially by Nicholas Hoult whose questioning and probing of George reveals yet another complex layer of the man.

There’s something impeccable about this movie and although that very precise perfection may irritate some viewers, most should applaud a film where the attention to detail makes you concentrate on one man’s almost overwhelming grief.