“I never was very fond of waking up,” states George (Colin Firth) in a voiceover at the start of A Single Man.  If I were George, I would feel the same way. But when the subject of a film is the dreary life of a grieving and suicidal man, the film itself is sometimes a bit dreary, and in this case, slow. Despite a brilliant and nuanced performance from Colin Firth, and mostly strong supporting performances, A Single Man ultimately fails under the weight of poor direction and a script with too many holes.

For the past eight months, every day has been a struggle for George. After Jim (Matthew Goode) the love of his life and partner for sixteen years is killed in a car accident, George forces himself to go on living, alone, in their glass house in the woods. He teaches English to bored students who smoke cigarettes during class. With the exception of Charley (Julianne Moore) he has no close relationships. Life in Los Angeles academia in 1962 requires that he hide his homosexuality. As the film begins, George intends to go through his day’s obligations, visit Charley one last time, thank his housekeeper, leave notes and directions and then kill himself.  His despair is real, but the fact that his plans keep getting interrupted suggests that perhaps he wants to live. An evening spent with Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), a creepy student who seems to have a crush on George, changes his perspective on his life.

Colin Firth is in just about every scene in this film, and I never tired of him. Gone is the sexy charmer we are used to seeing, and his performance is so strong that he seems less attractive. He is utterly convincing as a gay man mourning his lover, but his performance is also subtle. He gets dressed slowly, like someone who does not want to leave the house, and he seems weighted down as he moves. In the few flashback scenes with his lover Jim, Firth is able to convey their deep connection with just a look and a subtle change in his voice. But for most of the film, Firth looks and talks like a man whose heart is broken, but is struggling to go on. He lectures his students with great effort, as he tries to convey his passion for literature in the face of their apathy and his sadness.  George treats friend Charley with warmth and an awareness of her limitations. When she makes an insensitive remark about Jim, Firth shows more sadness than the expected anger, as he explains the depth of his love for Jim. Julianne Moore is wonderful as the drunken, sad and still sexy Charley, and the scenes with Moore and Firth are my favorite scenes in the film, and provide much needed relief from its sadness. Firth and Moore seem like something in between old friends and lovers, and convey the complexity of George and Charley’s relationship when they kiss. She prolongs their kiss, and would be willing to try a life with him and he pulls away and sees the impossibility of such a life.

The most frustrating aspect of A Single Man is that it does contain some moving scenes. The film’s best scene is the flashback when George receives a phone call with news of Jim’s death. The caller (the voice is that of Mad Men’s Jon Hamm in a winking cameo) tells George that although Jim’s family had no intention of notifying George of Jim’s death, he thought telling George was the right thing to do. Hamm’s character is nervous and obviously has mixed feelings as he tells George not to come to the funeral, as it is for family only. George is polite and restrained, which only highlights his grief. The scenes of George interacting with his neighbor Mrs. Strunk (the underused Ginnifer Goodwin) and her children, and with his colleagues are understated and revealing. These few scenes show the difficulties a gay man might have encountered in 1962 more effectively than the film’s many less subtle ones.

Successful fashion designer Tom Ford  makes his directorial debut here, with a film that he financed himself and a screenplay based on Christopher Isherwood ‘s 1964 novel that he co-wrote.  The film looks like television’s Mad Men, but not quite as good. Ford overuses the contrasting sepia tones, black and white and bright colors, and we notice the technique more than appreciate its effect.  Ford also uses many long and lingering shots of eyes and eyelashes and red mouths. One conversation in the film takes place in front of a big billboard of a giant eye.  He also shows us many shots of clocks, and there is some philosophical talk about time. This seems to emphasize how slowly the film moves, and I was shocked to find that its running time is only 99 minutes.

The biggest plot problem comes in the second half of the film. The relationship between George and his creepy student Kenny seems forced and doesn’t really make sense.  Apparently, Kenny is supposed to be attractive, but instead seems like a borderline stalker one should fear.  It seems improbable that an intelligent and sensitive guy like George would find Kenny compelling.  The flashback scenes with Jim showed them to be a couple with much in common, which added to their enduring connection. A person mourning a deep love would not be swayed from suicide by an evening spent with the pretentious and immature Kenny.  Moreover, buff though he may be, Nicholas Hoult made my skin crawl and his performance as Kenny was off-putting rather than enticing. George’s connection with Charley seemed more meaningful and that was not enough reason for him to want to live.  Even worse, the film’s ending feels contrived and I felt cheated.

 Obviously, A Single Man was a labor of love for Ford, who says he put some of his own life into the film.  And perhaps that is part of the reason for the screenplay’s weaknesses and Ford’s somewhat heavy handed and self indulgent direction. And that is a shame, because the story is a good one.

A Single Man.  Directed by Tom Ford.  Colin Firth(George), Julianne Moore (Charley), Nicholas Hoult( Kenny) Matthew Goode (Jim) Jon Kortajarena(Carlos) and Ginnifer Goodwin(Mrs. Strunk). The Weinstein Company, 2009.

 

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

Tweet  Print This Post

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies // 1 Comment »