Review of A Single Man (2009) by Michael C — 05 May 2011

For a first time director, I was shocked at how well this film was composed. Boasting terrific performances from lead Colin Firth and co-star Julianne Moore (but then when is she not putting in quality acting work?) and shot in such an eloquent way you would believe the director had been behind a camera lens for decades, "A Single Man" is a seemingly personal and fascinating movie.

The film follows a very articulate, lonely gay college professor through one 24 hour period in his life, on a day in which he plans to take his own life. Throughout the film he maintains a series of flashbacks detailing the life he had with his lover who died in a car accident a mere months before, an event that is clearly driving his self-destructive intentions.

The film really works well, and one of the reasons is it doesn't handle the sexuality of its main character in a heavy-handed way. His homosexuality is certainly a huge part of the film, but his depression is the central focus of the movie, and it is in that ailment that Firth's performance is impressive.

Firth really captures the isolation and persistent wave of silent emotional pain in severe depression, and while its not a showy, over-the-top performance, he brings those feelings across so naturally it feels as if it is bursting out of the character.

These type of minimalist performances are hard to pull off, and Firth deserves kudos for succeeding in doing so.