The fashion world has been responsible for many a model-turned-actress, but this is perhaps the first example of a designer-turned-director. Thankfully, Tom Ford is an extraordinarily talented filmmaker. Adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s seminal 1964 novel, considered by many to be one of the core texts of modern gay literature, A Single Man is preoccupied with surfaces, secrets, and invisible suffering, taking place over a single day in the life George Falconer (Colin Firth), a British teacher at a Los Angeles college. Unable to come to terms with the death of his partner Jim (Matthew Goode), George is planning his own suicide. A series of encounters with his student Kenny (the now officially grown up Nicholas Hoult) and his best girlfriend (Julianne Moore) threaten his resolve and bring him back into touch with the living.

A Single Man is a visual wonder. The attention to detail - costume, furniture, architecture - is staggering. Alternating between a palette of crisp black and white and potent colour, Eduard Grau’s cinematography accentuates the sadness and poignant regret of George’s life. While he was Creative Director of Gucci, Tom Ford made his mark creating a style which was influenced by the past, but firmly rooted in the contemporary. Here, Ford’s greatest strength is how he manages to make this period pre-AIDS story seem relevant and meaningful to a contemporary audience while he pays tribute to universal themes of sacrifice, forgiveness and acceptance. The performances are all top quality - Hoult and Moore are both strong - but the film clearly belongs to Firth, never more sincere or heartbreaking, who gives a tour-de-force performance as the restrained George.