Confession: I love having Netflix, but we are genuinely terrible at making time to watch the discs that come.

I used to be so good – there were a few months when Andrew lived in CA and I lived in AZ … I was watching 2-3 discs per week.

TOTALLY getting our money’s worth.

But lately, we get 1 disc and just don’t have the time to watch it together so it sits by the DVD player for weeks.

WEEKS!

Which is pretty much why it has taken me this long to watch A Single Man.

In spite of the fact that I adore Colin Firth and I love 1960s style.

For those of you who don’t know … (from Wikipedia):

A Single Man is a 2009 drama film based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. It is the first film directed by Tom Ford. The film stars Colin Firth, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of George Falconer, a depressed gay British university professor living in Southern California in 1962.

There are so many things about this film that I just love…

First and foremost, if you love mid-century style you MUST watch this. Turn off the sound and just look if you’re not interested in the story. Every shot, every location, every clothing detail is just wonderful eye candy.

Related: I think the cinematography is quite interesting …. I’ll need to watch it again to decide what I actually think about it, but there are definitely moments when the shot composition, or the color/saturation/desaturation choice is obviously …. um. Intentionally different. I know that’s vague.

Like I said, I want to rewatch it to be sure …. But I think most of the time when Colin Firth’s character is down or depressed he is desaturated and all the other characters are hyper-saturated in color. I think.

Very interesting choice from a film-making point of view – using color as a story-telling device is nothing new, of course.

Just interesting to think about.

I love that the story all takes place in 1 day (with some flashbacks). I seem to remember some aspect of ancient Greek theater being that the plays were all required to take place within a single day, in a single location. I could be mis-remembering that, of course, but it makes for interesting creative solutions when (as a writer/filmmaker) you limit yourself to tell the whole story within a limited time frame.

I’m in love with Colin Firth, as we know by now. I just adore that man.

I’m happy to see him in pretty much anything. Except Mamma Mia. That was painful.

I like Julianne Moore. I don’t *love* her (yet) but she is growing on me….Have you seen Far From Heaven? Excellent. I’m looking forward to seeing The Kids Are Alright.

I am now fascinated by Tom Ford. And Christopher Isherwood.

I really enjoyed A Single Man – 4 stars on Netflix

Watching A Single Man plants a seed of inspiration to:

• wear false eyelashes more often. Delicious. I bought some for this photo shoot and need to remember to get them out.
• Keep an eye out for Tom Ford’s next movie. Whatever that may be.
• Go to estate sales and find some more mid-century furniture. I seriously can’t get enough of that style!
• stalk Colin Firth. Watch more Colin Firth movies. Including Bridget Jones. I can’t help it. I love him.
• watch The Kids are Alright and other Julianne Moore films.
• take a film class. I always want to do this. Always. Maybe when I’m able to quit my day job.
• re-watch Mad Men seasons 1-4. This movie made me miss that show …. I can’t believe how long I have to wait for the next season!
• learn more about Christopher Isherwood. I didn’t realize this was based on a novel and now I’m fascinated. I love mid-century American literature.

Have you seen A Single Man?