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Ford's 'Man' will break your heart

Published Jan. 22, 2010

Thrill-seeking escapists feeling the post-Pandora blues might crow that box-office behemoth "Avatar" is the end-all, be-all of visual effects at the movies. Although the film's revolutionary 3-D camerawork is impressive, there's nothing like having your breath taken the good old-fashioned way.

In "A Single Man," fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford makes breathtaking his business. "Man," a faithful adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's seminal 1964 "gay novel," is an arresting look at closeted professor George (the absolutely brilliant Colin Firth) grieving after the death of his 16-year partner Jim and contemplating ending his own life throughout a day in his chic Los Angeles neighborhood.

Ford, no stranger to visual media, infuses Isherwood's tale of quiet desperation with gorgeous camerawork and striking imagery. Each frame encapsulates as much austere beauty as any one of Ford's iconic photographs; they create an exquisite mosaic of not only George's solitary despair but also Ford's visionary eye.

Luckily, "Man" has more to offer than dazzling eye candy. Colin Firth is truly a virtuoso in his extremely humanizing, subtly nuanced performance; his cold disconnect is balanced perfectly by his warm smile at the memory of his deceased lover. So, too, Ford balances style and substance with a seemingly effortless finesse. It's this marriage of hyper-realistic performance and ultra-stylistic direction that makes "Man" so aggressively beautiful.

George, who was for 16 years "single" only by public assumption, has spent the last eight months in the wake of Jim's death learning how to be alone. He lives in a glass house and is used to quietly stealing his moments of happiness behind closed doors. He confides in Charley (a devastating Julianne Moore), a boozy old flame struggling with loneliness herself after divorce, and revels in a nude picture of Jim he keeps in a bank safe. Firth summons a hushed urgency to George's search for a reason to live another day. He lectures his students on fear, engaging a young admirer Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), who feels connected to George's glassy contempt for the norm.

Ford clearly feels that kinship, too. He's stated Isherwood's novel had a tremendous effect on him in his youth, and the dynamic, rich life he has breathed into "Man" shows Ford has more than camera tricks to bring to the table.

Ford lays it on thick, and "A Single Man" has a tendency to tenacity. The stylized music video cutting and explicit scenes of homosexuality may be too much for some viewers. (The opening dream sequence of George kissing the lips of Jim's mutilated corpse will surely have some darting for the exit.) Still, the driving passion behind "Man" is sincere, and Firth's humbling performance grounds the film even in its most artistically ambitious moments.

"Man" is filled to the brim with these lyrical moments. It's a great adaptation in that it screens like a novel. It's a gorgeous panoramic that forces you into the life of George. Ford commands the screen in an alluring way that challenges the way we watch movies. This evocative drama will take you for an emotional ride sure to leave you breathless and look damn good doing it. No goofy glasses required.