"A Single Man"

The Movie:

I went to see this five times. I have never gone to the movies to see a film that many times over. Something about this picture just touches you on a very deep and personal level. Quite simply, it's a perfect movie. Tom Ford (one of my favorite designers) directed it. It's based on Christopher Isherwood's novel of the same name which was written in the 1960's. It takes place in L.A. during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The movie chronicles one day in the life of one man, George, who lost his partner of fifteen years eight months prior to the beginning of the movie. It follows George to and from school, where he's an English professor, to the bank to run some errands, and every now and then into the past. Nicholas Hoult is Kenny, one of George's students, who is a little confused about his sexuality and who befriends George and makes him see things a little differently. Julianne Moore is Charlie, George's friend from England who's in love with George, but naturally, because he's a homosexual, this love is unrequited.

There are so many things to love about this movie. First off, there's the score, which hooks you from the moment the picture opens. Then there's the amazing use of color. As George's moods change and as the atmosphere changes, the colors change and become more vibrant. It's a really clever technique that only someone who spends all of their time trying to create beauty would think to use. Another great thing about this movie is how real it looks. It's a great period piece about the 60's. Every detail is authentic right down to the little metal Bayer aspirin tin George has on his desk at school. But the thing I love the most about this movie is that, yes, it's about a gay man, however, this is not the main focus of the movie. He just happens to be gay. It's not a "gay movie"... I mean, let's be honest, most "gay movies" suck. No, this is a story about a person. It's done with respect, truth, and class. I really appreciated the way Tom Ford decided to bring the book to the screen and tell the story. He even added some subplots that weren't in the original story, but work well on screen. Hands down, the best movie of 2009.

The Book:

After I saw the movie for the fifth time, naturally, it sent me running out to get the book! The book isn't very long at all. I read it in a day. It's easily one of the best books I've read all year. Christopher Isherwood, who wrote "The Berlin Stories", the basis for "Cabaret", wrote this in 1964. It was clearly way ahead of it's time. It's the most honest portrait of human beings I've ever read. These are real people with real problems and real emotions and imperfections. The characters in this novel are devastatingly human. The homosexuality of the heroin, George, is handled with absolutely no irony or special treatment. It's simply a fact of this man's life. In fact, it's not even something you think about while you're reading, which I think is a great compliment to the author. He managed to pull this off at a time when this was a pretty racy subject matter to write about. This is a great and somewhat underrated work of literature and I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to read something good. It's a prime example of great writing and a wonderful use of language while still being straightforward and sympathetically unsympathetic. Isherwood is clearly one of the great authors of the 20th century. I read the book after I saw the movie, and honestly, I don't think it made a bit of difference. I would recommend checking out both. I personally could not get enough of this story and did not want the book or the movie to end. It's one of those stories you become very involved in. So, read it, watch it, and judge for yourself.