movie review: A Single Man

A Single Man 
A Single Man is one of many films more deserving of a Best Picture nomination than The Blind Side or Avatar. It's the first film by Tom Ford (yes, the fashion designed Tom Ford). It stars Colin Firth, who is rightly nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA for his role.

The film is absolutely riveting. Colin Firth is phenomenal, and if I were voting for the Academy Awards, I would pick him over Jeff Bridge. Yes, I adored Crazy Heart and Jeff Bridges' performance; that's how good Colin Firth was. Colin Firth is a British English professor living in L.A. in the 1960's. His lover died recently, but he is present in flashbacks. Julianne Moore stars as Firth's best friend, who also emigrated from England. She's a delightful alcoholic with her own problems.

As a director, Tom Ford shows immense promise, even if it felt he tried to hard visually at certain times. There were a few overly long extreme close-ups that did not add much to the scene. He was clearly trying to hard visually at some points, but for most of the film it was beautiful and interesting. As someone who rarely notices a film's score, I was mesmerized by the use of music throughout the film. The music provided extra depth. For a first film, it is fantastic. The acting alone would make this movie excellent, but it's truly a film lover's film.

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Running time: 101 minutes
Release date: It's in theaters now. There's no listing for dvd release yet.
Source: I paid to see it at the Spectrum Theater.

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