The feature debut of former Gucci Creative Director Tom Ford, A SINGLE MAN follows a day in the suddenly shattered life of an English professor, George (Firth), whose partner of 16 years has unexpectedly passed away .Complicating this scenario is the fact that the year is 1963 and George's partner was a man. Despite the first stirrings of sexual revolution on George's California campus, he exists in a world of antediluvian academia, in which his secret grief dares not reveal its true nature. As he seeks solace in professional routine, narcotic pills and his best friend Charley (Moore), he begins to question whether he will ever escape the prison of his solitude. Freed from the strictures of the British rom-com, Firth offers a master class in quiet devastation. ( a Picturehouse synopsis)

As I had time to spare, I stopped off at the Clapham Picture House in London to see what films I could see before my train home. This was the only one. Whilst I don't normally watch anything that isn't either an action movie or sci fi, I had just read that Firth won the best actor category at the Baftas, so I assumed it was worth seeing. I wasn't even aware of the film's theme! Much to my surprise I found it very engrossing and without the sentimentality normally I associated with such films. The quality of the acting was balanced through out the entire film, with excellent supporting characters. The actual journey that George undertook towards his final destination (death) was exemplary, with his resistance to the obvious danger of the proverbial last fling. His actual departure was unexpected after a failed and humorous suicide attempt. His reconciliation with his predicament, his acceptance of continuing his life, somehow seemed a more appropriate state of mind in which to have a fatal heart attach. I remember thinking that if I ever had a perceived terminal condition (physical or mental) and contemplated suicide, I would be very grateful if my body took the initiative and removed the need for a suicide attempt. Readers of this review may not find this a satisfactory conclusion, however, faced with a life limiting condition, it offers hope, that the end will be timely.