andrew_james10 I rarely fail to watch the whole movie but this was so slow and morose I gave up before the hour. I just couldn't care less about the lead character who always looks like Colin Firth acting (I feel the same about Martin Freeman). So the pain didn't engage me or any desire to see the end.

diligentdrool-49794 About seven minutes into 'A Single Man', there is a scene that should never have worked so early in a film. It is that moving, 'Oscar' moment that most movies would have in their second or third acts, after strong character establishment and buildup.But this scene -- a value addition by fashion designer Tom Ford to Christopher Isherwood's brilliant prose -- works perfectly here. It epitomizes what this film is about -- emptiness. That Colin Firth produces what I consider to be the finest single piece of acting helps.The story of 'A Single Man' is straightforward. It is set in one day in the life of George, a middle-aged college professor in 1960s California. He is grieving the loss of his long-time partner, Jim. Through this day, we follow George as he wakes up, "becomes George", lectures students, has dinner, drinks, and has a few chance encounters. Clearly, this is not a film for everyone. Audiences not keen on character-driven stories will probably not even be able to sit through it.That Ford chose this book for his first feature film is interesting. Not because of the subject matter, but because the internal nature of the book would have given any film-maker fits. This is a book that could be considered impossible to translate visually because not only is there little in way of plot or action in the story, but it is all narrated in the third person's head. What is even more surprising is the way Ford deals with this problem. He does not abandon who he is. He chooses to make this internal story extremely visual -- a choice not everyone seemed to like. But that he did it his way made me appreciate the honesty behind his effort to take this beautiful, poignant story to the screen.This is not Isherwood's story fully. The tone is different, as is George, and there are elements added for driving the narrative. That is exactly why this is a great adaptation. It is full of original elements but at the same time does no disservice to the raw and powerful source material. Ford does make a few questionable and indulgent choices, but even when he does flounder, his lead actor is always there to save him. Firth delivers a career turn as George. How he produced a performance so heartbreaking and empty at the same time, I will never know. Ever the paragon of subtlety, Firth comes out of his shell as an actor in the most unique way -- by going into a shell as his character. This is a performance that should have landed him the Oscar gold, not just the nomination. It is his finest 95 minutes on screen. There are many reasons to watch this film. Firth is the biggest, for he barely seems like he is actually acting, which is the highest praise I can give an actor. But he is not the only one. He is supported by wonderful turns by Julianne Moore and Mathew Goode, both of whom have great chemistry with him and make use of limited screen time to convey real emotions and relationships. Nick Hoult is good too, though less brilliant in the third act (he is not helped by the relatively weak dialogue there).Also a hat tip to Abel Korzeniowski, whose score is one of those few that perfectly capture the mood of the film. Sometimes, good music is not matched by the film, and vice versa. Here, the harmony is perfect. It is a beautiful score that stays with you long after you have watched the film.I have, however, docked a star even though 'A Single Man' is one of my favorite films. If you have seen it as many times as I have, the editing mistakes -- probably a result of Ford over-directing the film -- become hard to ignore. Also, the day the story is set actually falls AFTER the Cuban Missile Crisis ended. A little research would have helped avoid that frustrating mistake. But those goofs matter little in the grand scheme of things. A beautiful story, the aesthetic and tender handling of it, and one extraordinary performance recommend this film. As one critic put it -- it is a thing of heart-stopping beauty.

studioAT Nobody can doubt the calibre of the cast involved, or the director, Tom Ford, but for me this film didn't really do a lot.A simple premise is stretched to breaking point, and even then the film feels overlong.Colin Firth as ever gives the type of performance that thoroughly deserved awards, and I also liked Matthew Goode in his role too.Ultimately though this film will not be one that i'd wish to see again, and plotting and character development are the two reasons for this I'm afraid.A single man - a decent film

SquigglyCrunch A Single Man follows a homosexual English professor in 1962 whose boyfriend dies and finds it difficult to continue living life afterwards. The plot is one that we've all seen before. The only real difference is that it's a homosexual relationship over a heterosexual one. And unfortunately, it's presented in a way that we've pretty much already seen too. While there were a handful of things and scenes that I really liked, overall it really just isn't all that unique when it comes to plot presentation, which is unfortunate. Its a largely predictable movie, too, and the characters and their relationships aren't incredibly well developed. It seemed like characters just had instant bonds with each other for almost no reason. The characters are, like I already said above, just okay. The actors portraying these characters were quite competent, but the characters themselves weren't all that special. The main character, George, supposedly struggles with losing his boyfriend, but in all honesty I didn't see that. There were a few scenes where it was shown, and these were the scenes that I liked the most. But in all the other scenes he seemed fine. Actually, he seemed quite content for most of the movie. One thing that stuck out to me was the selective coloring. For a large part of the beginning the coloring makes it appear darker and duller, while the scenes where the main character was happy were bright and colorful. It was an interesting way to show us how George was feeling, but for a man struggling with the loss of his lover he seemed to get happy an awful lot. Another thing I didn't like was the ending. It just sort of happened. No foreshadowing, no hint at it being possible. It just did, with no explanation of any kind as to what actually happened or why. While it's suddenness is mostly realistic, it's still abrupt, and that just rubbed me the wrong way. Overall A Single Man is good. As far as presentation goes, it's nothing really special, nor are the characters, but the acting is solid and the selective coloring was pretty cool. In the end I would recommend this movie, but it just wasn't as much my thing as it was many other people's.