A Single Man [DVD] - Romantic Drama Film Starring Colin Firth - Perfect for Movie Nights & Gifts

Now and then a film comes along that is so perfect as examined from every angle that restores faith in the art of motion pictures. Such is the case with A SINGLE MAN. Starting with the beautiful novel of a gay British professor's planned last day of life in Southern California by Christopher Isherwood, adapted for the screen by Tom Ford with dignity and the power to open up the subtleties of Isherwood's book without treading on the solemnity of the books message, directed by that same newcomer Tom Ford with conviction and identification with Isherwood's characters, and then acted with consummate skill by Colin Firth as single man George who is surrounded with an excellent supporting cast - this film is in a class by itself and hopefully those who decide on the awards for best film/best acting will honor it.George (Colin Firth) begins what appears to be a rather ordinary day for a teacher of English in a close by college, the voice over by Firth relates the routine of rising and facing another day of loneliness he has been experiencing since the accidental death of his young lover Jim (Matthew Goode), yet there is something unique about this day: George is preparing for his last day on earth as he sets out his funeral attire and his gun and other accouterments that suggest he is seriously going to end his life. He busies himself with getting to class, leaving money for his housekeeper Alva (Paulette Lamori), facing students who seem to be uninvolved with life in general and his course on Aldous Huxley in particular, then clearing his office and progressing with his exit plan. Little things happen: he observes his neighbors, the Strunks (wife/mother Ginnifer Goodwin, grumpy husband/father Teddy Sears, the annoying yet perceptive little girl Ryan Simpkins and brothers Paul Butler and Aaron Sanders) as they 'play at ordinary normal life'; he talks with his longtime friend Charley (Julianne Moore), an ex 'lover' who shares his life secrets and invites him to yet another evening of food and drink and thwarted seduction; he is followed by one of his students Kenny (Nicholas Hoult) who despite the age difference offers a sense of caring and need for closeness; and he encounters a young handsome Spaniard Carlos (Jon Kortajarena) whom he befriends but decides not to pick up as a physical diversion. Little incidents remind him of his longterm relationship with his beloved Jim and these reminders are magically captured in flashbacks in tonal colors that create a sense of aging scrapbook pages. How George's planned 'suicide day' ends gathers all of the beauty of this film in some moments as finely tuned as we are likely to ever see on celluloid.Colin Firth IS George and the subtleties of his characterization are almost unbearably beautiful to watch. His home feels like Isherwood's home in Santa Monica: there are even drawings by Don Bachardy, Isherwood's lover, sensitively placed in the set. Julianne Moore gives another brilliant performance as the distraught alcoholic aging friend of George, and Nicholas Hoult and Matthew Goode give us characters to admire and to love. For this viewer this is as perfect a film as is possible to make. Highly recommended on every level. Grady Harp, June 20