A Single Man

Fashion designer Tom Ford's directorial debut should've been called A Single Gay Man. I raise this issue because the DVD exploits Julianne Moore on the cover and liner notes to create the false impression that this film centres upon a relationship between George Falconer (Colin Firth) and Charley (Moore). In truth, they appear in exactly one sequence together. This kind of misleading advertising is unnecessary; A Single Man is a good, though uneven, adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel of the same name. (Isherwood's short stories formed the basis of 1972's Cabaret.) A Single Man has to do with a British college prof in Los Angeles (Falconer) who wants to kill himself after his lover dies in a car accident. Instead, he keeps having dalliances with young men, including a student, which challenge Falconer's suicidal urges. However, the film slows down in these sequences and others. That's likely due to Ford's inexperience in the editing room, but also on the page. As a character study, Falconer doesn't transform enough to sustain 100 minutes. His encounters with the young men and Charley are episodic, and don't challenge our lead character sufficiently or create enough drama. However, Ford carries over his visual touch from fashion by lavishing his film with sets and a wardrobe that capture 1962 white, middle-class America, when gays were locked in the closet. Firth carries the film as the mournful, but repressed, Falconer, while Moore delivers an energetic performance as the single, free-spirited Charley, though her British accent is thin. Ford's audio commentary is humble, yet informative, laying bare his journey, from discovering the Isherwood novel to transferring it to screen. The other bonus feature is a routine making-of featurette that is pleasant, but not very revealing.