Well, hello all you people that i don't know more then likely. This is my very first blog ever, so hopefully I don't disappoint. Just some background information that might make this experience a little more pleasurable for all of is as follows;
1. I am an army wife currently residing in the always interesting, Ft. Benning, GA
2. I <3 movies. In fact, someday i hope to be involved with the them whether that is deciding the music that goes along with each seen or being the actual screenwriter for them.
3. My second passion is physical fitness (currently studying to become personal trainer)
4. I originate from Lebanon, OH
5. I want to make the most out of this life we have
Anyways, thats just a few key notes I wanted to add before I proceed in my inaugural blog. Ever since I could remember, movies have always been there to help me through whatever crisis or situation I was involved with. A prepubescent Ashley had already acquired the names of the who's who of Hollywood actors and directors(should give you an idea of the type of childhood I had). Movies allowed me to escape the harsh reality that I was facing at that time. And for that allotted time, my troubles ceased to exist.
Blogging, crazy idea whoever came up with the idea. I have assumed that keeping a journal was pretty awesome but this def. takes it up a notch in the fact that the whole web can gain access to your thoughts. Ranting already, man. Down to the brass tax folks. My blog will be an examination of films that are meaningful to me and that have made an impact on cinema today. I am going to try to examine one film everyday (time and life permitting). Breakdown everything from the acting, directing, dialogue, theme, etc. You guys are smart, you can figure it out as you read. But as bugs bunny so iconically phrased "thats all folks."
A Single Man. First thought that comes to mind is that no one is really that simple now are they. Every single person is as complex as a rub-ix cube. Reason why I am watching the film is simply for one reason; Colin Firth. If you don't who he is, after the upcoming Academy Awards you soon will because he will more than likely win for best actor for his work in King's Speech. A Single Man is just another unnoticed performance that displays his brilliance in his long career as an actor.
THE BREAKDOWN
The Single Man. One of the first scenes shows George (Firth) walking up to a dead man from a car crash and giving the unknown man (at the time), a final kiss and then he wakes up from the nightmare. Turns out that dead man was George's former male lover. A pen had leaked all over the bed on his dead lover's side. The significance of that, I'm still trying to figure that out. Firth wakes up to a view of himself in his mirror, proclaiming "just get through the day." Ever since his lover passed away in a car crash, each morning is a hurdle to Firth's character. Phone continues to ring without an answer. We see that the last phone call he received was from a cousin of his lover breaking the news that he had passed in a car accident. This morning scene is the first time we come across the mirror motif. Mirrors often represent ulterior motives and may also be used to suggest glimpses into other dimensions -- dreams, nightmares, fears, illusions, alternate plots or plans -- of which the characters themselves may or may not be fully aware...Firth has trouble looking at his own reflection in disgust. Later, we see that Charlie (his former female lover), has no trouble looking at her own self in the mirror. George lives in a glass house which I think represents openness but in this case, its quite the opposite. Eventually curtains are put up by advice from Firth's former lover, allowing him to be emotionally caged in, which, to me, pushes his depression and suicidal thoughts even further now that his lover had passed on. When he does get a chance to look out across the street and sees young children at play, a certain lightness occurs. Throughout the film, we see a change in lightness as George see something desirable and I'm assuming rather enjoyable things.
The most significant shot, to me, in this film, occurs as our protagonists packs to leave for work. On his desk lies a handgun and Aldous Huxley book called After Many A Summer. That particular Huxley novel I was unfamiliar with. In high school, we read his book A Brave New World, which allowed to have a leg up on his style of writing. Looking further into After Many A Summer, I discovered that the book was about a Hollywood millionaire who fears his own impending death. Firths character in the movie directly represents Huxley's protagonist in A Summer. Both characters are conscious of their mortality,finds themselves in deep contemplation of life. Enlightenment eludes them, though, as they are ruled by fears and cravings. The cravings George has are for young men that remind him of his lost love. The colors that made up that cravings would become brighter, making it more lively. For example, the young tennis players become more real as George gazes at them, craving their bodies.
"Sometimes awful things have their own kind of beauty" is my favorite line of the film. My thinking is that the awful thing that happened to our protagonist allowed him to see the beauty in the world. Each character George meets throughout his day show him that he does have something to live for. Knowing his plan to kill himself with the handgun (awful thing as well as Jim's death) and yet there's more to life than he had thought that day. Whether it was the playful children that lived a crossed the street from him or the fact that his lover of 16 years passed and he could still see the beauty in something so minimal like the eyes of a child at the bank.
Firth returns home and up in the sky above is a full moon, which typically represents the start of something new. In this case, a young student found himself interested in the professor. A line that rings true is that death is always the future. At the bar, where George meets his male student, he states a quote from Huxley; " Its not experience that does to a man but rather what he does that makes him a man." The two go skinny dipping in the ocean before heading to the professors house (we see throughout the film a man underwater swimming about). George begins to realize his connection to the young fellow and begins to second guess his end of the day suicide. Also, I want to point out that in the movie, there is always a clock present clicking through the day, acting as a timer. More than likely a countdown to his inevitable death. The young student actually heads back to Firth's glass house to change. George awakes at 3 am, still alive and alone in his bed. he heads over to where the young man was sleeping and discovers he was hiding the pistol he intended on commiting suicide with, at his side. So, he then places the gun back in the draw and proceeds back to his bed. Just as he begins to lay down, he has a heart attack and passes out on the floor near his bed. As he lies dying, his former lover's ghost appears and gives him a kiss on the lips (just as he did in his dream about Jim's car crash). A change of heart and deciding not to kill himself and yet he dies from a heart attack. WOW. Honestly, did not see that coming.
ASH'S WORD:
A Single Man. A plus movie
