A Single Man

TIFF: Tom Ford's historical importance (to date) rests in part on his unique collaborations with the late twentieth century's great commercial photographers: Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts and so on. With them, he championed the idea that style could govern our memories, without an appeal to straightforward nostalgia. Evidence of this same balance of past and present can also be found in the clothes he famously created at Gucci. Ford drew from the past in ways that clearly distinguish tribute from innovation, evoking both technological change and the timeless truths of the human form.

In his first feature film, Ford continues along this rich and aesthetically complex pathway, using the recent history of the photographic image to tell a story both historical and bracingly contemporary. The setting is Southern California and our moment in time is officially the early sixties. We meet George Falconer (Colin Firth), a gay college professor, as he learns that his lover Jim (Matthew Goode) has died in a car wreck. Grief overwhelms him, and his “invisible status” in society begins to close in again. Suicide seems the best way out. But a mad night with Charley (Julianne Moore), his best girlfriend from England, and the unexpected attentions of an angora-sweater-clad young man make George think twice.

Based on a late-career Christopher Isherwood novel, told largely through flashback and featuring alarmingly precise attention to period detail in furniture, costume and architecture, A Single Man could easily have felt like a throwback, a work of atavism. But Ford pulls this pre-AIDS tale of gay love and loss into our age by reminding us, again, of what is eternal in life, love and how we choose to forgive. The film deliberately reveals how George pulls himself from the narcissism of self-sacrifice to an understanding of his value to the world and the people around him. Ford seems to be gently insisting that the rich and complex personal histories of gay men, from any age, must be part of the political calculations of our time. A Single Man confirms this artist's ongoing impact on our culture and our awareness of our place within it.

--Noah Cowan

Tom Ford was born in Austin, Texas, and grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He studied architecture at the Parsons School of Design in New York. An iconic fashion designer, he was creative director of Gucci for many years before also becoming the creative director of Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche and YSL Beauté. He launched the Tom Ford brand in 2005. Ford is the recipient of multiple awards for his designs and his contributions to the fashion industry. A Single Man (09) is his first feature film.
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Larry Richman: The film is A Single Man, and it's the second big premiere with Colin Firth, who also starred in Dorian Gray. It was quite a fashionable crowd -- perhaps because director Tom Ford's primary career is as a fashion designer. This is his first foray into film. The crowd on the street was screaming as Julianne Moore, Colin Firth, and Tom Ford arrived on the red carpet. Tom Ford yelled out, "I hope you like my movie!" After taking my seat, I turned around and the three seats directly behind me had signs on them labeled "Julianne Moore, Colin Firth, and Tom Ford." It is always a bit surreal when the person onscreen is sitting next to you. Especially during the nude scenes.

I then realized that iconic Canadian director Atom Egoyan was in front of me. He directed my #1 Top Pick of 2008, Adoration, which premiered here. He remembered our conversations after the screening last year and was very excited about the forthcoming Blu-ray release of Adoration.

UPDATE 1:00 AM

This is the first foray into film for fashion designer Tom Ford, directing from his own script based on the Christopher Isherwood novel. In a word, A Single Man is a triumph. It is easily one of the most Oscar-deserving films of the year. Colin Firth has "Best Actor Award" written all over him, Julianne Moore is exquisitely perfect, and Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy, Skins) is on his way to stardom. I was simply awestruck. Everything about this film -- the look, colors, pacing, shots, composition, cinematography, costumes, soundtrack -- says that an extraordinary amount of love and care went into it. I must add that A Single Man really pushes the homoeroticism envelope in mainstream cinema.

This is a tour de force for Firth and a stunning achievement which is destined to be a highlight of his distinguished career. The range of emotions and the extent to which his character must convey them through his eyes and facial expressions, with the copious use of long takes without dialogue, left me wide-eyed with wonder.

Hoult didn't make it to the screening but he is absolutely mesmerizing in this. The way Ford shot him made people gasp. I literally heard "oh my God" from audience members at times. He's lit, framed, and shot like a Greek god. Of course, that was the idea as it's essential to the story. This will definitely be a break out role for the 19-year-old. The camera loves him, and it's a pretty daring performance. For fans of the BBC show, it takes Skins a giant step further.

This is the stuff of great movies. They don't get much better than this.

Director Tom Ford conducted a Q&A along with stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. I videotaped the entire session instead of still camera tonight, which I hope to post as soon as possible.