Quick Movie Review: A Single Man (2009)

A Single Man (2009)

Bottomline: A tour de force performance for Colin Firth -- too bad it's buried in an incredibly plodding and mind-numbingly boring film.

Where Can I See It? It is available for rent on DVD.

Because You Aren't Crazy About This Film, What Do You Recommend? A Serious Man. Released in the same year. Directed by the Coens. Stars a terrific Michael Stuhlbarg.

QMR Opinion: Dang. I had incredibly high hopes for this film. It's the directorial debut of Tom Ford, he of American fashion, and it stars two of my favorite folks -- Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. However, this is a prime example of a film where the actor -- Colin Firth -- is head and shoulders above the actual film. Firth puts on an acting clinic here. His understated performance is spot on. He plays an English professor in 1960s Los Angeles who has to deal silently with the sudden death of his long-time male lover. If you've heard about the scene where Firth receives the phone call letting him know that his partner is, in fact, dead, it is as great as you've heard or read. I have no idea how many takes it took to capture that moment, but Firth gives a mini-class on how to act using only facial expression. It is incredible. As you might expect, Firth was nominated for an Academy Award, but he lost to Jeff Daniels, who won for his performance in Crazy Heart (2009). Firth's performance is strong but Ford's direction killed this film. The pace is mind-numbingly slow. I do understand what Ford was trying to achieve but, seriously, this one hour 40 minute film could easily have been one hour 20 minutes and been just as effective. After about 30 minutes, I was checking my watch. The film is visually stunning -- the costumes, set design, etc. are all top notch and fantastic to look at. I hated -- absolutely hated -- the ending.