Dogs & Funerals
A Single Man (2009)
directed by Tom Ford
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
I was surprised by how willing critics were to classify A Single Man as a superficial movie based on the assumption that Tom Ford, as a fashion designer, works in a transparently superficial industry. It was easy to argue that Ford chose static images of naked torsos or modern architecture because they convey beauty and isolation and hopefully remind you of a better, more romantic movie by Wong Kar-Wai. Fashion people, I gather, didn't expect so much understatement, given Ford's penchant for Terry Richardson photo shoots featuring well-oiled blondes sucking on men's fingers.
All of that ran through my head, but A Single Man is full of choices neither obvious nor simplistic. It is a movie of restraint: we witness in full the moment when George hears of his lover's death, but see George's ensuing breakdown in quiet, brief flashes. Neither does Ford return to the composed scene in the snow that begins the film, when all signs point to an eleventh-hour repetition. Narration is used discreetly, and if Ford "relies" on his actors, he is enough of a director to draw out fine performances.
Too, he notices the right details on a close, interior-centric set. Those shots of eyeliner reminded me of Indiana Jones's favorite front-row co-ed with "love you" written on her peepers. But instead of playing star-struck, the Brigitte Bardot look-alike in George's English class calls her outwardly confident, handsome prof "cagey" behind his back. When was the last time we saw that dynamic in movie college?
directed by Tom Ford
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
I was surprised by how willing critics were to classify A Single Man as a superficial movie based on the assumption that Tom Ford, as a fashion designer, works in a transparently superficial industry. It was easy to argue that Ford chose static images of naked torsos or modern architecture because they convey beauty and isolation and hopefully remind you of a better, more romantic movie by Wong Kar-Wai. Fashion people, I gather, didn't expect so much understatement, given Ford's penchant for Terry Richardson photo shoots featuring well-oiled blondes sucking on men's fingers.
All of that ran through my head, but A Single Man is full of choices neither obvious nor simplistic. It is a movie of restraint: we witness in full the moment when George hears of his lover's death, but see George's ensuing breakdown in quiet, brief flashes. Neither does Ford return to the composed scene in the snow that begins the film, when all signs point to an eleventh-hour repetition. Narration is used discreetly, and if Ford "relies" on his actors, he is enough of a director to draw out fine performances.
Too, he notices the right details on a close, interior-centric set. Those shots of eyeliner reminded me of Indiana Jones's favorite front-row co-ed with "love you" written on her peepers. But instead of playing star-struck, the Brigitte Bardot look-alike in George's English class calls her outwardly confident, handsome prof "cagey" behind his back. When was the last time we saw that dynamic in movie college?
posted by NPK at 10:54 AM
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