I have yet to see Tom Ford's movie, A Single Man, but most definitely want to do so - right now it is only showing at one theater in Virginia Beach which is about 25 miles from the house. Given this area's social backwardness, it is likely to not be shown at many theaters due to its gay theme. Dan Siegel has a review at Huffington Post that makes the movie sound both wonderful and relevant. Indeed, it sounds like it has themes that many of us who have come out later in life go through, even if sometimes unknowingly as we endeavor to create new lies yet are haunted by the past as well. In addition to the freedom gained by coming out, there is nonetheless a mourning of what is gone. The past is gone, yet we have not yet to fully replace it and the future can look at times like a dark void full of loneliness. I for one admit that I often miss out on the beauty of life as I struggle with dealing with the daily crap that confronts me and I forget that tomorrow can/will be better. Living in and savoring the moment is not always easy, but it certainly can boost the quality of life. Especially since we do not know how many tomorrows there will be. Here are some review highlights:*
A Single Man has garnered Colin Firth his first Oscar nomination, and praise for fashion designer-turned movie director Tom Ford. Too bad the film was overlooked as a best picture contender. This movie deserves your viewing for Firth's magnificent (and indeed Oscar-worthy) performance in a wrenching yet life affirming story of love and loss.
*
The film follows George on his final day as he meticulously plans to end his life. We are taken on a series of encounters with those who color his decision: his closest friend and gal pal Charley (Julianne Moore), a Spanish street hustler, and an infatuated young male student who senses his pain and loneliness. Writer-director Ford finely details the invisibility of gay life in post-War America, portraying a man who lives in a glass house but cannot be seen much less understood in a 1950s culture defined by conformity and gripped by fear.
*
Firth provides a masterful performance of grief locked in the closet, most notably when informed by phone that he is not invited to the "family-only" funeral of his lover. . . . These stories, told through the magical powers of cinema, capture the twin truths of the human condition: loneliness and the search for meaning, and the often unseen beauty that surrounds us.
*
In the case of A Single Man, we observe a gay man unable to publicly mourn loss, thus denied closure and renewal. Firth's restrained voice-over narrative of his inner thoughts adds great poignancy to his predicament.
*
Some have criticized the film for being too art-directed and stylized by a fashion designer director. This frankly misses the point, as one's final day of remembering the past and seeing life before departing is well-suited to an idealized or hyper-real treatment. Or as one character declares in the film: "Sometimes, awful things have their own kind of beauty."
A Single Man has garnered Colin Firth his first Oscar nomination, and praise for fashion designer-turned movie director Tom Ford. Too bad the film was overlooked as a best picture contender. This movie deserves your viewing for Firth's magnificent (and indeed Oscar-worthy) performance in a wrenching yet life affirming story of love and loss.
*
The film follows George on his final day as he meticulously plans to end his life. We are taken on a series of encounters with those who color his decision: his closest friend and gal pal Charley (Julianne Moore), a Spanish street hustler, and an infatuated young male student who senses his pain and loneliness. Writer-director Ford finely details the invisibility of gay life in post-War America, portraying a man who lives in a glass house but cannot be seen much less understood in a 1950s culture defined by conformity and gripped by fear.
*
Firth provides a masterful performance of grief locked in the closet, most notably when informed by phone that he is not invited to the "family-only" funeral of his lover. . . . These stories, told through the magical powers of cinema, capture the twin truths of the human condition: loneliness and the search for meaning, and the often unseen beauty that surrounds us.
*
In the case of A Single Man, we observe a gay man unable to publicly mourn loss, thus denied closure and renewal. Firth's restrained voice-over narrative of his inner thoughts adds great poignancy to his predicament.
*
Some have criticized the film for being too art-directed and stylized by a fashion designer director. This frankly misses the point, as one's final day of remembering the past and seeing life before departing is well-suited to an idealized or hyper-real treatment. Or as one character declares in the film: "Sometimes, awful things have their own kind of beauty."
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