Trigger Warning: The following film discusses self-harm.

A Single Man follows George (Colin Firth), a college professor teaching in Southern California. His long-time partner (Matthew Goode) has died in a car accident and he is inconsolable. As the day continues, he’s approached by a hustler (Jon Kortajarena), a boozy divorcee (Julianne Moore) and a frisky student (Nicholas Hoult). Each offers him a way forward. Christopher Ishwerwood’s 1964 novel followed George’s inner monologue as he took stock of his life. David Scearce’s 2009 screenplay, co-written and directed by Tom Ford, makes a controversial change. George has bought a gun and plans to shoot himself.

Ford made his directing debut after a successful career in fashion design. Critics debated whether the gorgeous clothes, hair and lighting were right for a man who has kept himself nearly invisible. In Ford’s defense, the aesthetic reflects George’s inner life. The look chills or brightens depending on his mood.

Firth is giving one of his strongest performances. The supporting cast is uneven, though they look fantastic. The film was confusingly marketed as a romance between Firth and Moore’s characters. But it is unapologetically queer. A strain of gallows humor nearly prevents this from becoming a dirge. But if you’re feeling depressed you should avoid it. Here’s my spoiler filled recap.

It’s All Over But the Crying

A lot of people called it a homosexual novel, but in actual fact it was much more a novel about middle age. Because what I wanted to show was the extraordinary variety of behavior in middle age. Part of the time one’s quite tending towards senility. And other times one’s rash in a way that seems almost boyish, you know? ~ Christopher Isherwood

Scene One: Colin Firth’s Bedroom. California, 1962
COLIN FIRTH: It takes time to put myself together. I’ve been depressed ever since Matthew Goode died.
FLASHBACK JON HAMM: Matthew Goode died in a car accident. You can’t come to the funeral because the family is embarrassed by your gross homo love.
FIRTH: That was months ago. Now I can barely get through the days. But today is the last one.
(Writes goodbye notes and places a gun in his bag.)

Scene Two: College Campus
FIRTH: Bigotry stems from fear. The majority is told to hate minorities. The minorities justifiably fear the majority in turn. Race. Sexuality. Hair color. We’re all just people. But I see I’ve lost you. Class dismissed.
NICHOLAS HOULT (a thirsty student): What’s wrong sir? You’re really hot… tempered. If you’d like to get it off… your chest, feel free to take me… into your confidence.
FIRTH: Down boy.

Scene Three: Convenience Store
HUSTLER: Lonely?
FIRTH: Heartbroken.
HUSTLER: If you miss one bus, another comes along.
FIRTH: What happens when the bus runs you over?

Scene Four: Julienne Moore’s House
JULIANNE MOORE (Glamorous best friend): Thank you for coming darling. I’ve been ever so lonely since my divorce. I can barely manage my English accent. Let’s dance!
(They share a drunken dance.)
MOORE: We’d better stop. You’ll give yourself another heart attack.
FIRTH: Some days I barely tolerate you. But this was fun.
MOORE: Kiss me. Matthew Goode was a substitute for a relationship. I’d be something real.
FIRTH: That is an evil thing to say. He and I were more real than your failed marriage.
MOORE: Well… I can’t argue with that.

Scene Five: A Bar by the Sea
FIRTH: Why did I come here? I’m already drunk.
FLASHBACK MATTHEW GOODE: Because this is where we met. And I was gorgeous.
HOULT: Sorry to interrupt your flashback. Want to talk about it? You can bend… my ear anytime.
FIRTH: Your American accent is bizarre. Why were you cast?
HOULT: I’m pretty. (Strips naked.)
FIRTH: Well… I can’t argue with that.
(They go skinny dipping. Firth nearly drowns. Hoult takes him home.)

Scene Six: Colin’s home.
HOULT: What’s this? Suicide notes? And a gun?
FIRTH: Don’t worry. I don’t need those anymore. We’ve forged a real connection. It’s made me want to go on living! (Has a heart attack and dies.)
HOULT: What kind of an ending is that!?

THE END

Is That All There Is?

It’s about learning to live in the present, learning to share your connection with the rest of the universe, and those things really spoke to me after I had left Gucci and couldn’t see my own future. I had had every material advantage that one can have, and a wonderful boyfriend I have been with for 23 years, and yet I wasn’t seeing all those things. That’s why the book resonated with me. ~ Tom Ford

Isherwood’s novel is funnier, and more political, than Ford’s film. George’s inner monologue mocks his unimaginative colleagues and rails against homophobes. A meeting with a dying colleague reminds him to be grateful for the time he has. The ending is ambiguous. The professor goes to bed determined to find a new partner and rebuild his life. The narrator asks us to imagine the possibility that his heart might stop that very night. What is our takeaway if he dies? Is this a cautionary tale? Yet another “Bury Your Gays” tragedy? Or is there something beautiful in George finding joy again on his last day?

In 2025 Jonathan Watkins adapted A Single Man into a ballet. It ended with the hope “that pain and desire might drag and tickle George back to life.” A more crowd-pleasing message, perhaps. The work performed at the Manchester International Festival and at London’s Royal Ballet. Critics praised the dancers but had mixed feelings on the choreography and storytelling.

Incidentally, the film gives Lee Pace a brief cameo as one of George’s co-workers. Pace would make a good George himself in a few years, if the work is adapted as a play.

A Single Man is currently streaming on FUBO and Paramount Plus. You can find more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.