Tom Ford's vanity project turns Christopher Isherwood's novel of loss and grief into one long Calvin Klein commercial. The film is so concerned with surface gloss, it's like a parody of the type of film you'd think a fashion designer would make. There is a fussiness over art direction and costuming that always draws attention to itself, but which often doesn't feel right for the characters or even the period (Julianne Moore wears a op-art style dress that didn't come in till several years later, the little girl next door wears ridiculously elaborate dresses to play outside).
There are endless slow motion shots of flowing gowns and macro close ups of eyes (and more importantly eye make up) that are utterly meaningless, apart from Ford going: "Look, isn't that pretty!". From Almodovar, to Todd Haynes, to The Bad Seed, Ford steals visual motives from seemingly every queer movie ever made, without tying them to his themes. The film never flows, because Ford's camera constantly leers at fabric, mascara or modernist teak furniture.
As to the performances, Julianne Moore gives good fag hag and can this type of role in her sleep now and Colin Firth does his detached Englishman thing and displays a dry wit that makes the occasional moment work. Every other male in the movie looks distractingly like a contemporary cat walk model.
Ford thinks he gives you high art here, but all he comes up with is curdled camp.
There are endless slow motion shots of flowing gowns and macro close ups of eyes (and more importantly eye make up) that are utterly meaningless, apart from Ford going: "Look, isn't that pretty!". From Almodovar, to Todd Haynes, to The Bad Seed, Ford steals visual motives from seemingly every queer movie ever made, without tying them to his themes. The film never flows, because Ford's camera constantly leers at fabric, mascara or modernist teak furniture.
As to the performances, Julianne Moore gives good fag hag and can this type of role in her sleep now and Colin Firth does his detached Englishman thing and displays a dry wit that makes the occasional moment work. Every other male in the movie looks distractingly like a contemporary cat walk model.
Ford thinks he gives you high art here, but all he comes up with is curdled camp.