Review: A Single Man

A Single Man (2009)

Genre: Drama

Format: Blu-ray

Director: Tom Ford

I am sure that many of us would agree that we don't like to think about our mortality while living our daily lives. It is a fact that everyone dies and it is also a fact that sometimes, we live as if this life will go on forever. There is probably a good reason why we should not dwell on death because it would take a lot from our enjoyment of living in the moment. The loss of a loved one can change all of that however and that is what this movie is all about.

George Falconer is a professor teaching at a university in the 1960s Los Angeles. He is still mourning over the death of his life partner, Jim, who died from a car accident several months ago. The lack of closure that came with Jim's sudden demise has completely taken over his will to live. The movie shows us a day in the life of the lonely professor as he tries to cope with the utter sense of longing and abandonment from losing someone he desperately loves. Many things remind him of the good times but those only push him further into depression.

Though this movie brings with it the usual trappings of a suppressed gay love in a time when such thing is not socially acceptable - sadly, it is still a bane to a lot of people even to this day - but the great thing about A Single Man is that it is more about the issue of coping with the aftermath of death versus the difficulty of maintaining or consummating such a relationship. This is exemplified by the love interests that present themselves to George throughout the progression of the day. Investing into somebody new is not that difficult. It's letting go of someone you have loved so dearly that is the real dilemma here.

A Single Man may not leave a lasting impression as Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. It is more constrained and certainly less emotional. The new love subplot may be pushing things just a little bit when it comes to the realism of the situation but it does become a necessary plot device when the final moment of the film is finally revealed. The movie is still affecting and the pain presented here is certainly universal. It also has Julianne Moore with a British accent - that in itself just cannot be missed!

RATING: 3 out of 5