A Single Man

The trailer for Ford's directorial debut revealed little about the movie's plot, and felt rather reminiscent of an Ingmar Bergman film. From that, plus a director whose day job as a fashion photographer renown for his particularity and perfectionism, one might expect A Single Man to be a far more pretentious film.

Instead, Ford has bypassed the awkward feeling of film school projects or self-appreciating productions with an exquisitely crafted story of love, pain, loss, and coping. There's a surprising amount of sarcasm and humor throughout, extraordinary production design, and every shot is imbued with enough style to balance what might otherwise have been an excess of pathos.

Ford can't claim all the responsibility for the brilliance in A Single Man - the film is buoyed by the brilliant the stellar ensemble. Colin Firth is so profoundly moving as George Falconer, it's no wonder his performance has generated so much buzz. Julianne Moore also shines as George's best friend, Charly. In the hands of a lesser actress, Charly would quickly become a grating cliché - we are grateful to Moore that she does not. Nicholas Hoult, the youngest of the eponymous heroes of About a Boy, has clearly blossomed into his early adulthood. His icy blue eyes are filmed to their best advantage, and he creates a Dorian Gray-like ambiguously sensual persona for George's living ghost. Matthew Goode's screen time is so brief that his effectiveness is remarkable. His connection with Firth is so simple and genuine that George's adoration of Jim is completely believable.

Finding such finely tuned performances in A Single Man is representative of Ford's impeccably refined style. Like all good fashion, A Single Man highlights its strong points and limits its weaknesses. Like all good art, it could use another viewing.