A Single Man
Director: Tom Ford
Year Released: 2009
Rating: 3.0
Downtrodden college professor (Colin Firth) loses his lover in a car crash and experiences intense depression over the loss - he has difficulty expressing his suffering to those around him (because homosexuality is taboo) and has plans to kill himself. It's true, this is incredibly stylish (Ford is a respected fashion designer) if a bit distant, but Firth does a marvelous job to add a human element to story so it isn't all crisp white shirts and impeccably situated period décor. The ending is glum and sweetly poetic, reinforcing the notion that sometimes things won't 'get better' and that one can die from a broken heart. For being a first-time filmmaker, Ford's impressive: he knows to keep it simple and he leaves his actors alone ... his approach could use a little warmth, but it's early to see if he's going to go anywhere with the cinema as his medium (hell, he could end up being Our Cocteau!).
