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A SINGLE MANMovie Reviews
Drama, based on the 1964 Christopher Isherwood novel of the same name, about a day in the life of a gay, middle-aged Englishman in Los Angeles in 1962 who is struggling in the aftermath of an accident that took the life of his younger longtime lover. Cast:Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas HoultDirector:Tom FordRelease Date:December 11, 2009DVD Release:July 6, 2010From:The Weinstein CompanyRating:RLength:1 hr 39 min
A Single Man played in key cities to excellent reviews. • Shawn Levy wrote in the Portland Oregonian, "...a handsome and inventive and truly felt film. Credit for that goes to Ford, of course, but much, too, falls to Colin Firth, who’s superb as a closeted homosexual English professor in Southern California, circa 1962." • And Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...a rare film of equal parts style and poignancy." More Reviews Below...
A Single Man Positive Reviews (40 Reviews, reviews below)
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Firth plays George as a man of his time who is also mournfully ahead of his time. He's addicted to his own broken heart. 'A Single Man' may break yours as well."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 371 words, 12/11/09
David Germain, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...engaging drama as well as the sumptuous collection of images you'd expect from first-time director Ford.... The detail Ford applies to the production design is a marvel."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 578 words, 12/10/09
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "Firth is devastating... the movie suffers a bit when the first-time director goes too heavy on the art direction... Still, the acting soars."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 92 words, 12/10/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...impressive film debut sometimes gets lost in the details. But its visual flair and masterful lead performance make it a rare film of equal parts style and poignancy."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 12/11/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...with Mr. Firth, Mr. Ford has created a gay man troubled by ordinary grief and haunted by joy, a man apart and yet like any other."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,230 words, 12/11/09
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...so unusually beautiful it would be easy to dismiss it as superficial... Colin Firth's central performance infuses all the arty touches with genuine emotion."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 315 words, 12/11/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Firth plays George superbly, as a man who prepares a face to meet the faces that he meets.... He's so good at this, it must have been rehearsed since youth."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 788 words, 12/24/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "We're always looking for those performances that truly define an actor, where we can sit back and simply watch the talent soar. For Colin Firth, 'A Single Man' is that film."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 886 words, 12/11/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Firth and Moore are wonderful together, and just about every sequence and flourish and detail in Ford's film feels and looks right."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 12/25/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING(cg) "A daringly creative take on Christopher Isherwood's canonical novel... has much to say about gay issues but more to say about, well, life."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 253 words, 12/11/09
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "The climax makes the film seem slight... Then again, Colin Firth is enough. Every movie is a performance, but very seldom is a performance a movie."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 855 words, 12/11/09
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an immaculate directorial debut, each shot beautifully composed and art-directed.... But it's all a bit much. Couldn't there be a bit of ugliness somewhere?"(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 387 words, 12/10/09
KEY CITIES (15 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "Colin Firth delivers a quietly devastating performance as a man mourning the loss of his longtime lover.... it is all nuance and understatement."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 418 words, 12/25/09
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...deserves recognition for being about something real that usually goes unexplored: The grief from which there really can be no return."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 671 words, 01/15/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "What makes Firth's performance so great is how he remains buttoned-down, yet still lets us see his quiet desperation as powerfully as if he were shouting from the rooftops."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 431 words, 12/25/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...ultimately disappointingly simplistic.... sure, life goes on, but 'A Single Man' trivializes its hero's heartbreak. It makes his hurt mundane."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 523 words, 12/25/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Ford approaches moviemaking as a photo shoot unstuck in time, and that gives 'A Single Man' a luxuriant sadness while keeping the audience at arm's length."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 751 words, 12/25/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...as gorgeous as you would expect, and surprisingly large-hearted. Thanks to Dan Bishop's lush production design and cinematographer Eduard Grau's inventive visuals..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 591 words, 12/25/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Firth, with the smallest of gesture or nuance, lets us see this man's heartbreak without ever letting it burst through his carefully controlled surface."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 493 words, 12/25/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: EXCELLENT(cg) "...the first film from fashion designer Tom Ford... he's done a terrific job with both George's internal traumas and the external look of early '60s California."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 346 words, 01/15/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a handsome and inventive and truly felt film. Credit for that goes to Ford, of course, but much, too, falls to Colin Firth, who's superb..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 268 words, 12/25/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "In a movie of murky surfaces and deep loneliness, the redemptive surprise of 'A Single Man' is how it becomes a clear endorsement of the Buddy System."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 342 words, 01/15/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...often disappoints.... the movie lays as flat as an issue of Vogue on a coffee table. As a director, Ford has style. What he needs more is a story."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 333 words, 01/14/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...ends on a lovely note of grace -- an indication that even for George, whose grief and loneliness today feels paralyzing and all-consuming, there's always a reason to go on."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 12/25/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "In this beautifully tailored drama, content and style have as vital a relationship as George and Jim did. The one would be lost without the other."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 551 words, 12/25/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a remarkable debut feature from fashion designer Tom Ford.... Ford is a true visionary, but it's his humanity that gives the love story a ravishing, bruised grandeur."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 11/27/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "For a first-time director, Ford shows masterful restraint with a loaded subject. He has a knack for the brief, trenchant detail..."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 328 words, 12/24/09
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an immaculate directorial debut, each shot beautifully composed and art-directed.... But it's all a bit much. Couldn't there be a bit of ugliness somewhere?"(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 387 words, 12/10/09
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...with Mr. Firth, Mr. Ford has created a gay man troubled by ordinary grief and haunted by joy, a man apart and yet like any other."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,230 words, 12/11/09
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: GOOD "...the whole movie, with its glazed and polished air, could be a dream.... The film is slowed by its own beauty, but it is salvaged by two majestic scenes."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 12/14/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "We're always looking for those performances that truly define an actor, where we can sit back and simply watch the talent soar. For Colin Firth, 'A Single Man' is that film."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 886 words, 12/11/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Leslie Felperin, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "Like the speck of sand that seeds a pearl, it's the tiny fleck of kitsch at the heart of 'A Single Man' that makes it luminous and treasurable, despite its imperfections..."(See all of Leslie Felperin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,060 words, 09/16/09
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "The theme of the search for meaning after a great loss is developed with great sensitivity thanks to Colin Firth's moving performance..."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 627 words, 09/18/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "We're always looking for those performances that truly define an actor, where we can sit back and simply watch the talent soar. For Colin Firth, 'A Single Man' is that film."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 886 words, 12/11/09
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...with Mr. Firth, Mr. Ford has created a gay man troubled by ordinary grief and haunted by joy, a man apart and yet like any other."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,230 words, 12/11/09
14.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
A Single Man's reviews are separated by an average 14.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
A Single Man (40 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:A Single Man's reviews cover 76.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 20,725 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 518 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
A Single Man Coverage, Volume & Length (40 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 21.2 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
A Single Man's reviews on average broke 21.2 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is A Single Man's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
A Single Man (40 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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