A Single Man (Tom Ford, 2009)

David Liu | 21 January 2010

Tom Ford’s A Single Man is by no means perfect, but poems of the moment, having little structure, are free from degeneration. Colin Firth plays George Falconer, a middle-aged professor mired in an existential crisis after receiving news of his longtime lover’s death by car accident. The film weaves through the most difficult day of Falconer’s life, crafting lush sketches of 1960s Los Angeles through a series of flashbacks and serendipitous encounters.

Firth’s turn as the quietly disillusioned Falconer is a miracle of acting, among the year’s best. World-weary yet restless, his character channels such authenticity that we leave the cinema feeling like we’ve actually met and grown acquainted with him. Scenes like an alcohol-fueled reunion with an old flame (Julianne Moore) and a rendezvous with a spirited pupil (Nicholas Hoult) brim with fleeting splendor.

These moments, along with a handful of other images that linger in the mind long after the final fade to black, emerge as the film’s foremost achievement. Through Firth’s tender performance and Ford’s hyper-detailed direction, A Single Man attains poignant universality. Is it the directorial debut of the year? I would say so. Though A Single Man gravitates toward self-indulgence, its devotion to beauty - and the expressive agony of that devotion - is something to behold.