Last evening after a day of Thanksgiving feasting, we sat down to watch some television and digest our food. We headed into Netflix and landed on a movie called A Single Man from 2009, starring Colin Firth as a college professor in the 1960s who loses his lover of 16 years in a car accident. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood and directed by fashion designer Tom Ford. The film is shot beautifully with excellent design and production values, and the acting is strong across the board. Colin Firth is great in the lead role, and he is supported by a fantastic performance from Julianne Moore.
I was so happy when Julianne Moore finally won an Oscar this past year for her role in Still Alice, as I think she's been long overdue. I'm not sure that it's my favorite film of hers, but she played an extraordinary character arc as a woman moving through early onset Alzheimer's. Her ability to track the character's deterioration over time illustrated the level of specificity she brings to her work. Her performance in A Single Man is completely different, but still infused with that same level of specificity. I'm also always impressed by her fearlessness as an actor. When I watch her work, I never feel like she's holding anything back, yet it never feels pushed either. What a gift. Same with her work in Far from Heaven, a role that in any other year would have garnered her an Oscar were it not for Nicole Kidman's work in The Hours.
I always look forward to Julianne Moore's work, and I'm curious to see her next project. For her great skill, commitment, and fearlessness, Julianne Moore is the artist I admire this week.