Tom Ford swaps fashion for film with ‘Single Man’

LONDON (AP)— Fashion designer Tom Ford has made a seamless transition to filmmaker with “A Single Man,” the soulful, immaculately styled story of a grieving college professor in 1960s California.

The ultra-confident Ford never doubted his abilities — though he admits plenty of other people did.

“It’s funny, because everyone was so supportive,” Ford said. “And now that I’ve made the film, quite a few people have said to me, ’Isn’t it nice you did that when everyone was laughing at you?”’

They’re not laughing now.

“A Single Man” has earned strong reviews — it opens widely across North America on Christmas Day — and last week received Golden Globe nominations for its score and the performances of Julianne Moore and Colin Firth.

Firth won the best-actor prize at the Venice Film Festival for his performance as George Falconer, a gay Englishman in Los Angeles mourning the death of his longtime lover in a car accident.

Ford — who directed, co-wrote and co-produced the film — has been praised for his subtle adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s novel, which recounts a day in George’s life through seemingly unfilmable interior monologue.

The film adds a dash of plot and gallons of visual flair.

Unable to see a future without his partner Jim (Matthew Goode), George resolves to end it all. He gets a gun and starts to set his affairs in order.

It’s all remarkably assured, but then the Texas-born Ford has never lacked ambition. Now 48, he transformed luxury brand Gucci in the 1990s before founding his own Tom Ford label. Filmmaking seemed like a small step.