A Single Man (2009)

An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.

Director:

Tom Ford

Writers:

Christopher Isherwood (novel), Tom Ford (written for the screen by),

Stars:

Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Firth	...	George
Julianne Moore	...	Charley
Nicholas Hoult	...	Kenny
Matthew Goode	...	Jim
Jon Kortajarena	...	Carlos
Paulette Lamori	...	Alva
Ryan Simpkins	...	Jennifer Strunk
Ginnifer Goodwin	...	Mrs. Strunk
Teddy Sears	...	Mr. Strunk
Paul Butler	...	Christopher Strunk
Aaron Sanders	...	Tom Strunk
Aline Weber	...	Lois
Keri Lynn Pratt	...	Blonde Secretary
Jenna Gavigan	...	Other Secretary #1
Alicia Carr	...	Other Secretary #2

Storyline

It's November 30, 1962. Native Brit George Falconer, an English professor at a Los Angeles area college, is finding it difficult to cope with life. Jim, his personal partner of sixteen years, died in a car accident eight months earlier when he was visiting with family. Jim's family were not going to tell George of the death or accident, let alone allow him to attend the funeral. This day, George has decided to get his affairs in order before he will commit suicide that evening. As he routinely and fastidiously prepares for the suicide and post suicide, George reminisces about his life with Jim. But George spends this day with various people, who see a man sadder than usual and who affect his own thoughts about what he is going to do. Those people include Carlos, a Spanish immigrant/aspiring actor/gigolo recently arrived in Los Angeles; Charley, his best friend who he knew from England, she who is a drama queen of a woman who romantically desires her best friend despite his sexual ...

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Plot Keywords:

professor | friend | student | suicide | accident | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing images and nudity/sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 December 2009 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Samac

Filming Locations:

300 W Green St, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£502,009 (UK) (12 February 2010)

Gross:

$9,166,863 (USA) (16 April 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fade to Black Productions, Depth of Field, Artina Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, Tom Ford did not design the costumes of the film. Arianne Phillips did.

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Goofs

Kenny uses the expressions "cool" and "blows my mind" during the bar conversation. "Cool" was an adjective, not an exclamation, in the early 1960s. It and "mind-blowing" were usages that came in with the Hippy era of the late 1960s.

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Quotes

Grant: There will be no time for sentiment when the Russians fire a missile at us.
George: If it's going to be a world with no time for sentiment, Grant, it's not a world that I want to live in.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.11 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Cyber Cafe"
Written and performed by Norman Harris
Courtesy of Manhattan Production Music

User Reviews

Colin Firth and Julianne Moore shine (as usual) in Tom Ford's brilliant directorial debut

Tom Ford, you surprised me. I don't really follow the fashion world too closely at all, so although I naturally knew his name, I wasn't familiar with his creations. I haven't read the Christopher Isherwood novel (yet), so Colin Firth and Julianne Moore were the ones who actually got me excited for this project. And I wasn't disappointed – it actually exceeded all my expectations, and alongside Jane Campion's "Bright Star" (which unfortunately is being almost completely overlooked this awards season), it's the most poetic 2009 film I have seen so far.

Firth, always elegant and fascinating, plays George Falconer, a British professor in 1960's Los Angeles trying to cope with the death of his long-term partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). It's been eight months since Jim's death, and George decided to end his life by the end of the day – and it's this day we see in this admirable film. George spends time with his best friend Charley (the always wonderful Julianne Moore), with whom he had something in the past (and still has hopes of winning him over again), and now is an unhappy divorcée. A young pupil, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult, who has grown up a lot since "About a Boy" and "The Weather Man"), who clearly is infatuated with George, harasses him until he finally gives him the attention he craves. These two different encounters will be decisive for George. As sad as the overall tone and the theme of mourning can be, "A Single Man" is by no means depressing. Ford uses and abuses of "artsy", but very efficient and intriguing camera angles, and a classy score by Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski. Eyes, lips are shown in evidence throughout the film, and naturally, the costumes are all superb.

George's long day's journey reminds me a lot of Virginia Woolf's classic "Mrs. Dalloway". Marleen Gorris was able to do a correct but somewhat cold adaptation of Woolf's novel in 1997 (scripted by Woolf scholar and talented actress Eileen Atkins, featuring the magnificent Vanessa Redgrave in the title role), but I thought she wasn't much to blame for the film's coldness since that's one of the most complex novels to be translated to the screen. After seeing "A Single Man", I even dare to say Tom Ford could do an interesting and very personal adaptation of "Mrs. Dalloway". Also, this is one of the sexiest films since Alfonso Cuaron's "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (2001) and Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" (2003), and Nicholas Hoult's incandescent presence has a lot to do with that. He gives an efficient, brave performance for an actor his age, and although I'm sure Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliot"), who was the first choice for the role, would've been terrific, Hoult doesn't disappoint. It's not every day we're given a film with such emotional intensity and exuberant sensuality, and "A Single Man" proves that Tom Ford is certainly a promising director, having given us not just a great first film, but one also one of the year's finest and most unusual creations. A film to be felt and celebrated, and I can't wait for the DVD - it's a keeper. 10/10.