Every morning it takes me a little while to be George, to adjust to the expected George and the expected words and actions, and when I'm done wearing and finishing the shoes with this slightly stiff, but pretty perfect George, I already know How should I play the role of 'George'?
The above is the opening monologue of "A single man", a few words that captured my heart.
After watching this film for several days, I wrote something impulsively, but due to improper preservation, it all went to waste. But out of love for it, I decided to rewrite it to commemorate it.
The script is extremely simple: George, a college professor who died in a car accident with a gay man for 16 years, could not bear the loneliness and pain of a single life, and decided to commit suicide eight months later. The film chronicles the last day of his life.
The specific scenes will not be repeated, and interested students can see for themselves.
There are a few scenes in the film that I am more interested in:
1) The use of multi-purpose scenes
This is a flashback segment, which appears at 11 minutes in the film: George suddenly receives a call from Jim (George's gay lover) brother Call and inform him that Jim died in a car accident. He rushed to the house of Charlotte (a friend of the opposite sex), crying. The sound of rain replaces dialogue, and actions and expressions speak for themselves.
Is this scene to show George's pain? We can't deny that, of course, but it's not only about it - the scene where George takes the phone is enough for that purpose, without the need to repeat the narration and waste the scene.
I think, this scene is to bring out Charlotte.
As the only female character in the show, she pushes the story forward with a private party, setting a test as a suitor, highlighting George's dedication and sincerity to Jim's love. Such a role must be given her an important enough position in the protagonist's mind. Only in this way can the party at night and George's rejection of her confession have its due weight and corresponding smoothness.
When George heard the bad news, he was the first to find Charlotte, who was a friend, to express his vulnerability and pain, which clearly pointed out the meaning.
I remembered the "New Three Kingdoms" that I glanced at not long ago, there is such a plot: Cao Cao designed, when the assassin thought that his frame would enter through the front gate and hijacked the car, Cao Cao feinted a shot, drove lightly, and secretly Safely entered the city from the east gate. Later, the screenwriter revealed this conspiracy through the mouth of Cao Cao's young son, Cao Chong. Really kill two birds with one stone! It not only explained the conspiracy, but also portrayed Cao Chong, and also showed Cao Cao's love for the child most vividly. The writing style of this multi-purpose scenario is concise, resourceful, and worth learning.
2) The design of the scenery determines whether this is a vulgar encounter or full of implication.
George goes to the store to buy wine and meets Carlos, a Spanish boy. This is a very brief spiritual affair.
Losing Jim doesn't mean George also loses his sexuality. Before meeting Carlos, the film points to the ubiquitous sexual temptations in the world around him in several places, and since this is George's last day alive, he opens his heart to experience them. Of course, this doesn't constitute a betrayal of Jim, just an honest confession of George's sexuality. Until the encounter with the Spanish boy, the theme reached its climax.
The scene is designed like this: the shot is brought in from a close-up of a pair of women's eyes, which is an advertising oil painting on the wall of a parking lot. George stopped in front of the advertisement, entered the store, bumped into Carlos, sparked a little spark of seduction, George returned to the parking lot, Carlos followed, the two sat at the back of the car and looked at the sunset:
"You know, it's the smoke that engulfed the sky. Dyed this color."
"I've never seen a sky like this."
"Sometimes ugly things have their own beauty." In the
frontal shot, the woman's huge eyes are behind them.
These extremely spiritual eyes symbolize the mighty and ubiquitous worldliness. The beautiful sunset is like a beautiful vision in life. Homosexuality is not allowed in the world, it is a blasphemy to God and nature, but who knows, there are many sincere feelings among them?
George and Carlos, a Spanish boy, chatted without passion, bathed in the beautiful sunset, but could not escape the scrutiny of the secular concept behind them. I think this scene is somewhat ironic?
Here, Carlos is not the point, and neither is Jim's death. If George is heterosexual, he is so sad because of the death of his wife, that the sadness is so great that he will not end his own life, right? Why change to the same sex, everything will be logical and acceptable?
This scene, I believe, cryptically gives the answer.
Because of social pressure!
George's suicide was not only because of Jim's death, but also because of the loss of a comrade-in-arms who fought side by side with the world, leaving him alone in the glass house, but "living in the fog". Although according to Carlos, accepting a new relationship is like waiting for a bus, and someone will come up sooner or later, but for George's nearly middle-aged car, it is impossible. He retained the ability to appreciate same-sex beauty, but lost the courage to start all over again. After all, for homosexual love under huge social pressure, love is not just a continuation of social life, but social life itself!
3) Several comparisons: Contrast produces definitions, especially in a movie script with limited space, the themes
do not need to be listed, and comparison is the most convenient and effective way.
Contrast 1: The film begins with George kissing Jim's body in a dream, and ends with the kiss Jim gives when George is dying. It's a completeness: George's kiss is a memory, Jimmy's is a call.
Contrast 2: George's suicide scene is the only scene in the play that is expressed in light comedy: suicide notes, inheritance certificates, and funeral costumes for himself are neatly arranged on the desk. He was lying on the bed, leaning against the wall, curled up in his sleeping bag, and got into the bathroom, but no matter what, he couldn't find a comfortable way to kill himself. Contrast this deliberate, even slightly psychologically contrived behavior with the ending of the movie - George opens the window and looks at the bright yellow moon and the owl with wings, "I've never felt a moment in my life as clear as now. "He sits peacefully on the edge of the bed, lying on his back with a heart attack, and he accepts everything peacefully, accepts Jim's visionary Hermes-like dying kiss, and walks quietly to God.
The same is death, which was full of anticipation and was intentional before, but finally accepted it unintentionally; George has been reawakened, and life is finally here. It can’t be said to be cruel. For him, it should be a real peace of mind. .
Contrast 3: Sixteen years ago, George and Jim met at a seaside bar and fell in love at first sight; sixteen years later, George was disheartened, but in the same bar, he was brought back to life by Kenny, a student whom he admired and deliberately approached. Kenny invited George to go for a swim, George took off his tired coat, and Kenny rushed out of the bar like a hairy guy to the beach. He saw the boy's momentary hesitation when he took off his clothes, which was finally eliminated with the encouragement of the students. The two jumped naked into the dark and icy sea, like two free and happy fish.
If 16 years ago, George fell into a fate trap called love, 16 years later, in the same place, he obtained a kind of redemption from the bondage of his heart. The use of cross-montage technique makes this contrast show the halo of fate.
4) The music, shooting, scenes, details, and montage of this film are all exquisite and full of creative techniques that make people smile. But either way, it's nothing without Colin Faith's superb acting skills. Colin Faith, the eternal Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, and the impressive Clifton in The English Patient. Years passed, and one day, he actually played a middle-aged man who lost his same-sex partner and had no business. I love his focused line of sight hidden behind black-rimmed glasses and tilted his head 30 degrees. I love his steady appearance in suits and leather shoes, but his performance is slightly neurotic. Because of Colin Faith, there is a heart-wrenching middle-aged old man George, so there is this classic "A Single Man" worthy of everyone's watching.
Highly recommended, check it out!
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