A Single Man (2009)

Jack, Mary Ellen, Dan, Judy, and I all loved this powerful drama about a closeted gay man in 1962 Santa Monica mourning the death of his long-time lover. The directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, who co-adapted (also his first) the Christopher Isherwood novel, it doesn't seem the work of a novice. Ford had to finance it himself, but the Weinstein Company took over later. Colin Firth (about whom I wrote in Easy Virtue), as George, the British English professor, conveys volumes with a mere twitch of his face, and can change his demeanor from desperate to devil-may-care in one line. Julianne Moore (some of her best: Short Cuts (1993), Boogie Nights (1997), Cookie's Fortune (1999), The Hours (2002), Far from Heaven (2002), Blindness), as George's friend Charley, conveys her own desperation as a 1960s divorcée of a certain age. Both have gained a number of nominations so far with more to come (Firth gave Time Magazine's top male movie performance of the year, and the movie was the magazine's 7th best of 2009). Matthew Goode (Match Point (2005), Brideshead Revisited), as the lover Jim in flashbacks, was the perfect guy, and young Nicholas Hoult (the boy in About a Boy (2002) and Gabriel Byrne's son in Wah-Wah (2005), both wonderful), as the student Kenny, is good, too. Funny that the latter three actors adopt accents from the other side of the pond, Moore playing a Brit, and Goode and Hoult playing Americans. Erin Daniels (Dana in the first 3 seasons of Showtime's The L Word), Ginnifer Goodwin (HBO's Big Love, Walk the Line (2005), He's Just Not That Into You) and Lee Pace (Infamous (2006), ABC's Pushing Daisies, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) make credited cameos, and, uncredited, Don Bachardy (novelist Isherwood's 30-year partner) appears in one scene in the English department staff room (wearing, according to imdb, Isherwood's lucky red socks) and Jon Hamm (AMC's Mad Men) is the person on the phone near the beginning (I knew I recognized that voice!).

As for the look of this picture, they work magic with color and lack of color. Every shot is art, be it sepia, black and white, earth tones, underwater, fire engine red lipstick, or a turquoise party dress with matching patent leather shoes. Smoke loops around the screen, as the characters have cigarettes everywhere, even in class. The production designer Dan Bishop and set decorator Amy Wells also work on Mad Men, which explains a lot. As one would expect, the wardrobe is marvelous, as is the eye makeup (lots of extreme closeups of eyes, with and without liner, some of which you'll see in the trailer). And the locations are divine. The magnificent "glass house," in which George lived with Jim and now alone, is discussed on this page. Someone please buy it and invite me over. The exterior of the college is classic mid-century, too. The "picture cars" (cars shown on screen) are amazing: George's Mercedes (with a moonroof!), a Cadillac with fins, two Thunderbirds (according to Jack: one from its first year and one from 1962), a couple of Corvettes, and more. Wonderful Golden Globe-nominated music by Abel Korzeniowski, with additional tracks by Shigeru Umebayashi (see Absurdistan), plus source music (i.e. the record player is on) by Etta James, Booker T. and the MG's, Jo Stafford, and the beautiful aria, La Wally, around which the plot of Diva (1981) revolved.

Don't let anyone tell you in advance what's going to happen. And pay close attention. Jack noticed two foreshadowings (that I missed) of a major event. Some might find this movie depressing, but I found it wonderful and you should see it!