A Single Man (2009)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A grieving man spends his final day in Los Angeles reflecting on a lost love while navigating unexpected connections.
The story
On November 30, 1962, George Falconer, a middle-aged English college professor living in Los Angeles, wakes from a dream about his deceased partner, Jim. Overwhelmed by depression and intending to end his life that evening, George spends the day putting his affairs in order and reflecting on their sixteen-year relationship. He encounters a student, Kenny Potter, who shows unusual interest in him, and forms a connection with a Spanish male prostitute, Carlos. Despite his internal turmoil, George interacts with his friend Charley, though their differing views on his past relationship cause friction as he navigates his final day.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
On November 30, 1962, George Falconer, a depressed English professor in Los Angeles, intends to commit suicide following the death of his partner, Jim, eight months prior. After a dream of Jim's body, George spends his final day reflecting on their sixteen-year relationship while putting his affairs in order. He interacts with a student, Kenny Potter, who follows him to a bar; they go skinny dipping and return to George's house, where George eventually falls asleep holding his gun to prevent suicide. Kenny falls asleep in another room, and George wakes up to find him. Realizing he has rediscovered the ability "to feel, rather than think," George locks the gun away and burns his suicide notes. As he makes peace with his grief, George suffers a heart attack and dies while envisioning Jim appearing and kissing him.
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tom Ford
- Writers
- Tom Ford · screenplay; David Scearce · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Colin Firth · George Falconer; Julianne Moore; Matthew Goode; Nicholas Hoult; Jon Hamm · Harold Ackerly
- Genres
- period; romantic; drama
- Themes
- grief; loss; depression; love; suicide
- Tone and mood
- sensual; melancholic; beautiful
- Premise and plot tags
- period piece; LGBTQ-related; drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1964 novel by Christopher Isherwood
- Content notes
- gay content; male nudity
- Reception
- The film received an overall positive reception from critics, with most reviews singling out Colin Firth's performance. It holds an 86% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 77 on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 86% · scale: Fresh · review count: 192; Metacritic · score: 77 · review count: 35
- Awards and nominations
- Volpi Cup for Best Actor · Best Actor · won; Queer Lion · third annual · won; Academy Award · Best Actor · nominated; BAFTA Award · Best Actor in a Leading Role · won; Golden Globe Award · Best Actor · nominated; Screen Actors Guild Award · Best Actor · nominated; Golden Globe Award · Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture · nominated; Golden Globe Award · Best Original Score · nominated; BAFTA Award · Best Costume Design · nominated; Golden Lion · Venice International Film Festival · nominated; Grand Prix · Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics · won; GLAAD Media Award · Outstanding Film – Wide Release · won; AFI's Film of the Year · AFI · won
- Production trivia
- The production design was by the same team that designed AMC television's Mad Men.; The actual house where the character George lives in the film was designed in 1948 by John Lautner.; The film was shot in 21 days.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…