A Single Man is the directorial debut from Yves Saint Lauren's Tom Ford and provides fantastic performances from Colin Firth and Julianne Moore but very little else worth its time. The story follows Colin Firth whose male lover of 16 years has passed away as he deals with his day to day life. To represent his depression Ford employs the color technique of making his face so dulled it is practically gray, until moments of joy when he miraculously within a shot becomes Florida spray tan orange. The film doesn't really go anywhere until he meets with his best friend Charlie, played spectacularly by Julianne Moore who in playing an English woman shows her Meryl Streep like versatility to do practically anything. We are then graced with a moment when we learn more about his character than just he misses his companion and is sad but as soon as the door closes as he leaves Charlie's house, so does the door close on any form of actual story. With several shots of rippling male back muscle and rear nudity you can be forgiven for expecting text of 'a new fragrance by Fendi' to appear on screen. Whilst Ford creates a beautiful landscape on the screen he lacks the knowledge of film to present it in a way that tells story above your average film student technique level. When attempting to create a flashback to a romantic moment jump cuts pull you away from ebracing it. This film is simply a case of filmmaking 101 but with a higher production budget mixed with high end commercials. If you are simply in love with films which look beautiful then this will provide an enjoyable moment but it gives little more than this. Much more to the point it is overstyled to the point where the film does not look like it is lived in. Julianne Moore's characted is somebody who is unhappy with her life and doesn't get out of bed most mornings yet not a single hair clip will be found out of place visually. All in all this film proves to be a huge disappointment considering the calibre of actors.
A Single Man has been picked up by the Weinstein Company and is expected to have a rush release in time for awards season this December providing the Weinstein's follow through on their promises....
