“Sometimes awful things have their own kind of beauty”

Directed by Tom Ford adapted from a book of the same title by Christopher Isherwood

Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Nicholas Hoult

Its a visually stunning piece that centers on the complexities of Aging, Love, Sexuality, and Lost.  This is a period piece depicted in one day, it hinges on Colin Firth’s character, George Falconer’s last day, where he attempts to see the world differently will having flashbacks of his past with his lover, Jim, that died.

Even though the main apparatus of the plot is George’s sexuality, Tom Ford is very classy in the way he portrayed sexuality without anything explicit or physical.  In George’s day, he is shown to have fixations with beauty from the lips of a young female secretary to the eyes of man he runs across in front of a store.  Ford focuses these moments of clarity visually by pushing up the tones, hues, and saturation of the film, it builds a hierarchy where you can easily separate George’s emotion state when it transitions from being dry into a state of wonder.

Symbolism: I wonder how many things went over my head with hidden hints or references like the end when an owl is outside his door and we are presented with a full moon.  I did notice a few film references to James Dean and Bridget Bardot, but I think its more about the trend of the period and not trying to be referential to classic films.  Look at some girls’ styles a few years back, where some girls were trying to look like Amy Winehouse, so I just believe these moments in celebrity style are just trends of the time.

Casting: It was definitely well casted, it was cool to see UK Skins’ star Nicholas Hoult make an appearance in American cinema, his American accent was definitely not believable, but for some reason it works well for the period and atmosphere of the film.  Julianne Moore is obviously a great actress, I am loving her appearances on 30 Rock, this is sort of a role written for her, rich, aging, but young spirited mother detached from life.

The lecture George had on fear and racism was very interesting and worth the time to re-watch.

Music:

More from the Soundtrack

Trailer

Overshadowing Facts: The director is former Gucci designer Tom Ford and the team behind the settings are the same people that work for AMC’s Mad Men.  First I love the show Mad Men and second I remember the time when Ford dropped the fashion world and told everyone he was going to pursue his love for film and everyone’s reaction wasn’t much different when Joaquin Phoenix said he was going to become a rapper.  It almost seemed like Ford assumed defeat when he return to fashion with his self title label which only sold to men of leisure, but its great see that he won with a film that aesthetically aligns with his designer's repertoire.

I am definitely left wanting my own personalized stationary