A singular genius

Tom Ford used to be a cautionary tale. The genius behind Gucci, he made the brand name so glamourous that to be clothed in his designs was to have a Monroe moment. (Talk about cautionary tales.) Anyway, after he was fired, he spoke in interviews about his interest in film. No one scoffed – outright. He went on to stay iconic, working with Estee Lauder to bring out Amber Dew, and a make-up palette that was clean, definitive and supremely sexy, like his womenswear. He then designed glasses that became like the Hermes Birkin, instantly recognisable and universally coveted. Then, he made A Single Man.
I remember seeing a movie, the name of which I've forgotten, where a young boy falls in love with a man and it was the first time I realised that homosexuality, unlike what society tries to din into our dim skulls, is neither unnatural nor wrong. It showed love, real love, between two people, and it was moving and sweet. With this movie, Ford does the same thing. Colin Firth, of course, was lucky enough to have found Ford because this is what he will be remembered for.
What a sad song for romance, though, and life. What stays in your mind for days is the deep connection between the lead couple, and the searing frames. Ford changes the colours from slightly grey to warm red to show emotion, or a spilled pot of black ink which travels to a man's mouth as though his life's blood, too, has turned. This kind of creativity in film-making has been noted for its invisibility until Ford came along.
There are two moments that are ineradicable as far as I'm concerned. One is when Jon Kortajarena appears on screen, all 6ft 2in of James Dean couture with the same kind of heart-stopping beauty. The other is when Colin approaches a sleeping Nicholas Hoult and does not enter the 'elderly gay man corrupting a young boy' scenario which is as much a cliche as a falsehood, and the kind of thing mediocre directors would have immediately latched on to as a, well, as a cautionay tale.
Ford was so smart not to go there. In fact, I think Ford is a genius, and Gucci should be thanked for firing him over artistic control (that's the thanks he got for taking a bankrupt company to the $10 billion mark!). Frida Giannini is great, no doubt, but she is not a genius. Ford got the opportunity to show us he is just that in more arenas than one.
PS. Another thing of beauty which I thank all the Gods for is Matthew Goode. Kortajarena is the sort of man you would enjoy watching in a love scene; with Goode, you want to be in the scene.