The Single Man (2009)

The pain of a man.

It is something many men don't show. Something too personal, something too revealing, something that is related to weakness; especially in today's society. Men simply don't acknowledge pain, until Colin Firth demonstrates how easy it is for men to fall apart.

Firth plays George, a professor who is still mourning over the death of his partner of 16 years, Jim. The story tells the unfolding of a day that George would ultimately take his own life. What happen if you plan your own demise?

Everything is magnified.

The cigarette burns with a purpose; the eyes dilate to let us into another world; the dinner with an old friend tastes heartier.

Such is the mundanity of George's last few moments. But they magnify his solitude, his yearning for company. Director Tom Ford manages to delve into George's world and create cinematography that is so vivid, that we are staring right at the character's anguish. And like his tailored suits, George's pain is immaculate.

Stripped bare, there's pain in everyone of us.

4/5