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There’s generally a pretty natural progression of careers in Hollywood. Usually, you start at the bottom—maybe as an extra, maybe as the kid who gets the extras coffee—and you work your way up. As you gain experience, you get a chance to do something bigger. Maybe, if all goes well, you finally get to go from effects guy to sci-fi director—like District 9’s Neill Blomkamp. Maybe you go from actor to director…or maybe from writer to director. But from fashion designer to Hollywood director? Not likely. Still, Tom Ford makes it look all too easy (and dazzlingly glamorous) in his directorial debut, A Single Man.
Colin Firth gives a heartbreaking performance as George Falconer, a college professor in 1960s California who’s mourning the death of his long-time love, Jim (Matthew Goode). Though it’s been eight months since Jim’s death, George still struggles to make it through each day. His life seems empty and pointless.
So, one Friday morning, after waking from yet another dream about Jim, George starts making preparations. He lines up his keys, sets out his paperwork, and leaves some extra cash for his housekeeper. He sets out his favorite suit and leaves a few notes. Then he packs a gun in his briefcase and leaves for work.
As he goes through his day, relishing his Technicolor memories of Jim while feeling lost in a bleak, washed-out reality, George searches for meaning—for hope, for some human connection—whether with his best friend, Charley (Julianne Moore), a friendly young neighbor, or a student (Nicholas Hoult) who’s struggling with his own identity.
Rarely (if ever) does a first-time director (not to mention one with no previous filmmaking experience—other than designing James Bond’s suits) display such a firm grasp on the art of filmmaking. But Tom Ford’s debut is simply and utterly breathtaking.
A Single Man is everything you’d expect from a fashion designer turned director. Every detail in the film is carefully considered. Nothing goes unnoticed—from hue and lighting to sets and furnishings to makeup and costumes. It’s a film filled with visual symbolism—which, while not always subtle, is strikingly artistic.
Fortunately, Ford is perfectly comfortable letting his art tell the story. He doesn’t try to overload the film with complex subplots, nor does he try to fill every silence. The story is simple, quiet, unhurried. And its simplicity only highlights the film’s beauty—and the actors’ unforgettable performances. Firth is at his best as George—a role that he plays with such beautiful (yet outwardly restrained) sorrow. And Moore has never been quite as stunning as she is while portraying Charley’s own desperation.
A Single Man is easily one of the most beautiful films of the year, but it’s so much more than simply stylish. In fact, it’s such a memorable drama—and a noteworthy debut—that you can expect to see more than just Tom Ford’s fashions at the Oscars this year (and, one can only hope, for years to come).
