It has been a long time since I have seen a movie that is so artistically inspiring that it keeps me up at night reviewing the images and sounds over and over in my mind. The Single Man was that kind of movie. Directed and produced by Tom Ford (the former creative director of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent), he bought the rights to “A Single Man,” the 1964 novel written by Christopher Isherwood, in 2006, and rewrote the script fifteen times within two years. (that’s passion and perfection at work!) I have followed Ford for years, admiring his design aesthetic and and sensual style. I had big hopes for this movie.

Colin Firth and Julianne Moore having a heart to heart.

It didn’t disappoint! Gorgeous camera angles, beautiful and honest set designs, and moments of white space. These quiet white space moments where the camera slowed down and the images became desaturated,  you had no other choice but be lost in your thoughts. Thoughts that meshed with the story line taking you to another time and place. Ford used color and saturation as a way of visualizing the emotions of the main character, played by Colin Firth. I was so absorbed by the acting and heavy sadness portrayed by Firth, that I was surprised that I didn’t notice the color shifts until a quarter of the way through the movie. In fact there are so many nuances and subtleties to this film that do not reveal themselves until thinking on it hours after the fact. This is probably one of the reasons why the majority of people I know have seen the movie more than once.

Julianne Moore in all her loveliness.

This is where I will end. I won’t share what the story is about, because I think it is better to see this movie not knowing much about it. Just knowing that A Single Man is a perfectly art directed, beautifully quiet, visually brilliant movie.