A Single Man

A SINGLE MAN (2009) - May 10, 2011
An exceptionally well made film about a college professor in the '60s who has a hard time getting over the death of his partner.  Featuring an absolutely amazing central performance from Colin Firth, which quite possibly ranks as one of the best performances that I've ever seen.  There's a scene early on in the film in which Firth receives a phone call informing him that his partner has died; the camera remains on a tight close-up on Firth the entire time, and it is nothing short of riveting.  Tom Ford's direction, which is meticulously crafted without ever coming off as fussy, is also superlative.  There's an interesting use of colour, for example, to represent how Firth's character is feeling.  It's a device that could have come off as too on-the-nose under a lesser director, but Ford absolutely pulls it off.  ****