Thoughts on A SINGLE MAN with Colin Firth and Julianne Moore

I can't WAIT to see this! And honestly, MB, having such a glowing review from you only makes my anticipation greater

Thanks for the correction Eric. The things you mention being concerned with are changes that are beautifully handled that make the book work as a movie. I've read the book too and frankly wondered how they would ever make it work as a compelling film. Yes, Hollywood license has been taken in the casting (but isn't it always the case that we get actors too pretty for the roles as described in the book?).

But this really is an ideal screenplay example of how to honor the story and tone of the original novel and yet open it up successfully to work in the medium of film.

HAHA of course but my typos are so bad, you shouldn't expect them to be better after a few glasses of wine :P

MB your words on the changes do make me worry less. The book just means SOO much to me, I guess, that I'm worried, but honestly less worried than I expected to be when I heard about this a year back. the fact you liked it so much helps a lot

I've been waiting for this quite a while. Going to a screening next weekend with a Q&A. I could've gone tonight, but I think I'm enjoying anticipating it (and was a bit busy). I've read so many good things about it. It's about time Colin Firth got some serious recognition.

HAHA no worries, I'm still feeling this site out a bit

Mad - as far back as his beginning, in films like ANOTHER COUNTRY and APARTMENT ZERO, up to things relatively recent like GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING.

From Christopher Isherwood: Getting Things Right (pp39-56)
by Thom Gunn (in Hiding in Plain Sight: Essays in Criticism and Autobiography)

In the last of these he goes on to present a hypothesis: “Just let us suppose, however...” What if George dies in his sleep? Again he disclaims responsibility; we are free to “suppose” that George does or George doesn’t, but since the hypothesis (like the analogy earlier) has been suggested, it is there on the page, and brings home to us with all the more force that it be not now, yet it will come.

The death is described in the original scientific tone:

Throttled out of its oxygen, the heart clenches and stops. The lungs go dead, their power line cut. All over the body, the arteries contract.

Bit by bit we watch the body close down.

And if some part of the nonentity we called George has indeed been absent at this moment of terminal shock, away out there on the deep waters, then it will return to find itself homeless. For it can associate no longer with what lies here, unsnoring, on the bed. This is now cousin to the garbage in the container on the back porch. Both will have to be carried away and disposed of, before too long.

These are the last words of the book, fierce, factual, and yet speculative.

~~~~~~~

I just happened to have this around and there is an entire school of thought supporting the idea that George does not die. Just sayin'... Anyway, Tom Ford himself made the comment that he needed to take the ambiguity out of the ending. When I have a bit more time, I could go find that interview.

(When I first read it, I thought he died as well...still do.)

Now madophelia, you can't really quote passages from the novella like that and then complain about Tom Ford's excessive visualization of it. The book is virtually all descriptive - excessively so at parts. I think the brilliance of Ford's direction is how he was able to translate that verbal poetry into visual pictures. At any rate, you can't film the ending passage as written - its completely aesthetic - some decision had to be made for the sake of story telling.

Matthew Goode is effectively charming, and likeable and works well with Firth. Nicholas Hoult is excellent - and Eric, even though he isn't quite what he's described in the book, he has a goofy quality that keeps him from being a conventional beauty (and thus preventing this from becoming a sort of remounting of DEATH IN VENICE).

One of my favorite scenes in the film actually is a new one written for the movie and not in the novel and that is the scene between Firth and the hustler at the liquor store.

Thanks for the review, MichaelBennett. As always, I like to ask about the award prospect of the movie. Would you say Firth is likely to take home the Oscar in 2010? Jeff Bridges seems to be his biggest competition at the moment.
I imagine Julianne Moore will get nominated as well, it seems to be quite a crowded category for supporting actresses, especially with movies with such strong female ensembles out.

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No, I think Ford was careful in his casting. The men are attractive without looking like they stepped from a fashion spread.

And (SPOILER) I always took the novel to infer that he did die. The whole taking the body out with the garbage description inferred that to me anyway.

RAY - I think Firth will get nominated. I don't think he will win. Its a small film, with very overt homosexuality. Firth also won't have the sentimentality behind him that someone like Jeff Bridges doing a career best performance will have.

Julianne Moore's role is small but showy. If enough people see the film (or even the trailer which shows the truth behind her performance which makes it so great), I think she could get a nomination.

MichaelBennett - What do you mean I can't quote passages and then complain? I have a clause in my contract to ensure my ability to do that. A world without complaining is a world not worth living in.

But getting back to this point of moderate contention. It was Ford's choice to take the ambiguity out of the storyline and introduce the often-hilarious suicide angle. There are numerous examples in both film and television (Sopranos anyone or even A Serious Man currently in release) where you are left hanging. Is it annoying not knowing, sure. But you deal with it.

As for Ford translating the poetry of the ending, he is highly effective with his water images from beginning to end. The water/rock pool metaphor being the final paragraphs of the book.

However, I'm sure you know that the hustler was played by the face of Tom Ford glasses: Jon Kortajarena. It has been awhile since I saw the movie, but I don't think there are any average looking people in it. They're all pretty...pretty or handsome. Tom Ford couldn't even cast the voice on the telephone in an average way. The voice is Jon Hamm's.

The parking lot hustler scene was gorgeous--as are many scenes-- and one can easily imagine an entire photoshoot along those lines.

But I did find another bit of lit-crit, which I can type up later, about the ending if you're interested.

Here is a link to the shooting script:

http://twcawards.com/assets/downloads/pdf/ASM_Screenplay.pdf