The Cold Truth

The directorial debut of A Single Man by Tom Ford follows a day in the life of George Falconer, sublimely played by Colin Firth. It has been eight months since the death of his partner, and Falconer has lost the will to live.

A glittering black pistol reveals his last day and we ride shotgun as he faces encounters with students, gigolos, neighbors, and old, gin soaked friends. The cast includes Julianne Moore as the best- friend, Matthew Goode, turning in a surprisingly real performance as Falconer’s deceased lover, and Nicholas Hoult (the titular boy in About a Boy) as a lustful student.

Everybody here displays their craft in top- most form, reserving every action to a work of art. The score is darkly calming and as one would expect from Tom Ford, the cinematography is breath taking.

As sharp as it may be, A Single Man isn’t a matter of style versus substance, though the argument has been made on both sides. Instead, it falls into another category, an exercise of form and function.

The characters found in A Single Man all have their problems. In the beginning when we meet our main character, there is talk of  pain held in the present, and for the first time in his life, Falconer can “see his character.” Each character we meet refuses to live in the world of the present, shifting instead between dual realms of the  past and the future. The refusal of the present, emotion, and life, leads to an emptiness. Characters of the film are left with only ghosts and wishes dressed in grand style to present a perfect imago. So dazzling images become accomplices in this glass life, and though the movie succeeds on this level because of this, it fails to move beyond.

The score, which, pushes the isolation of the world; and the keen acting, which illuminates the real loss and falsehood in every melancholic line, pushes the viewer into a realm where we may not find much, but understand exactly what we’re supposed to.The haziness, the mistrust leave a cold feeling inside with no specific source.

Dress it all up in garish costume and surround yourself with status defining design and hope no one asks. You can’t help but wonder if this is a feeling Ford has felt for years, and has pushed himself to address in A Single Man.

What was found may not be what was hoped for and though the film ends on a happy note, realistically, any answers to questions have been  placed within it’s own cold truth.

Levi Meaden

A Single Man is now playing at Eau Claire Market (200 Barclay Parade, SW)

- Also written for online  publication at Beatroute Magazine