A Single Man: Something Old, Something New

I watched the advanced screening for A Single Man, Tom Ford's directorial debut. I was partially ready to hate this film because it's Tom Ford (I'm stupid that way), but love it at the same time because of the aspects of the film that mirror my own demons.

However, there is a lot of love about this film - the cameos (Lee Pace! Ginnifer Goodwin! Jon Hamm! Lee Pace! Aline Weber! Lee Pace!), the play on colours, the stylised... well, the stylised everything!!! Tom Ford definitely knows how to make things... pretty.

But sadly, there is a lot of pretty in this movie but little plot substance. Yes, there is great technique involved in making this film to come out the way it has, but there is nothing here that is new or exciting or innovative. It is, in fact, just a new twist/way of looking at an old story, and to be honest, a movie with such a simple plot line needs a bit more substance to keep people hooked on it. Because the plot was so straightforward, there were times when I looked at my watch, wondering when the story moves on. Maybe if I had known about the plot beforehand, I would have felt differently... or maybe if it had not been raining, I would have been more patient with the film. Who knows anymore...

Having said that, there is also strong acting in this film. Colin Firth and Julianne Moore are fantastic (as always) and Matthew Goode achieves greatness here. There are also small scenes in the film (case in point: Matthew and Colin on the sofa) that really resonate so well, simply because they act so honestly - a testimony on how well the actors can strut their stuff. The latter alone is enough to convince me to watch this film.

So what is the verdict? While I would not watch this movie again, I will definitely recommend it. There is a quiet sadness in this film that I have not seen in a lot of films nowadays, and points to Tom Ford for making it feel very real. I just wish the ending was different, but hey, life happens. Three slices.