As pride month continues, I really wanted to take a look at something that I had not seen in years, but remained striking. I’ve seen and already reviewed films that are near and dear, but Tom Ford’s A Single Man isn’t something I have a nostalgic attachment for, but rather just something that the question is does it hold up on the second viewing? Now that I’m blind, I’ve experienced films differently, in both ways. Some films seem to get better, particularly films with strong violence that might have been a turnoff. Not being able to see gore allows me to focus on the acting and story a lot more. then there are films that there’s so much nuance, it is damn near impossible to translate that in a way that brings me to my emotional mountaintop. I refuse to acknowledge that Wall-E is anything less than perfect, but the audio description just cannot match the experience of seeing every little detail of expression in two robots whose only way of communicating is by saying each others names.

For Tom Ford’s A Single Man, I remember seeing this in theatres the first time and being struck by just how gorgeous the film looked. There’s so much intention in Tom Ford’s direction, that to see his directorial debut, you want him to just abandon his fashion career and pursue filmmaking, because he has such an eye for it. not to mention, he brought Colin Firth to his first Oscar nomination.

Looking back, it is interesting to see actors like Nicholas Hoult and Ginnifer Goodwin among the cast, in smaller roles, knowing their careers grew much bigger. Julianne Moore is always reliable, and she turns in a pitch perfect performance as the supportive friend to Firth’s grieving professor, who harbors feelings for him. And Matthew Goode is nice in flashbacks, but he’s also had a lot more to do.

So, this is all abut the look that Ford brings to the film, taking us into a time capsule when it was hard for a man to openly grieve the loss of his partner, because gay truly was not accepted in society. Even though the film has at times a black and white feel, with the snow, the suits, and the restrictions of the period, Ford finds ways of making that feel visually memorable. It’s been 15 years, and of all the things I remembered in this film, I remembered how Tom Ford captured the snow.

I watched this on Netflix, and I thought the audio description did a pretty good job of really trying to bring the whole piece together. in terms of interpretation of the product, I think they got the mood and the themes, and the narrator was matched appropriately. I did not catch the company in the credits, but I would have loved to hear just a little more about the directors choices. However, I can understand a little the feeling not to pursue that, as Ford did not go on to become one of the game changing directors. He kinda just went back to fashion. So while someone might find the importance in the style choices of Scorsese, or Hitchcock, one great film does not an auteur make.

An excellent directorial debut with a beautiful lead performance, I fear that A Single Man is often forgotten, and I’m glad it’s part of my Movies With pride this year. If you haven’t seen it, catch it while it is still on Netflix.

Final Grade: A-