A Single Man

If you have not seen A Single Man, Tom Ford's directorial debut, then I highly suggest you check it out this week. Luckily, I was able to view it back in September at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere, and it has sat with me since then. I even picked up Christopher Isherwood's book on which this is based--and have yet to put it down. After reading 80 pages, I have begun to recognize the creative liberties taken by Tom Ford in creating this film. Many reviews have portrayed A Single Man as being somewhat shallow as it does not provide much depth to its characters and rather focuses on the image itself, which I agree with to a certain extent. The film leaves quite a bit to the imagination, with a very thought-provoking end to the movie which left me pondering the importance of fulfilling certain things in life and the realization of what that may be, and when you can understand that everything on your 'list' has been crossed off.

The imagery and use of colours in this film are very thorough in influencing the viewers memory processing. Jérôme Bourdon's (a French communications and media professor at Tel Aviv University) idea of memory and television can be applied to this film. The main character George, played by Colin Firth, remembers different events associated through his daily actions after finding out that his long-time partner and love had died. This can be very emotional and thought evoking and related to almost anyone who has lost a loved-one and had to continue on without their presence. Personally, this notion leaves me thought-induced as the notion of relating one event in your memory to another could be the small anecdote of passing by their favourite coffee shop, or something that is deja-vu to someone that may no longer be in your life.

Regardless of sexual orientation or an interest in art and/or fashion, this film can speak to each person on so many different levels. I highly recommend to see this movie with a friend and spend an hour afterwards discussing exactly what you saw. Who knows, maybe you will see something different?

An Introduction

I have created this blog as an outsource where I can share fashion finds, trends, and the ever-so important cultural doings in both my city (Toronto), and around the world. I am a twenty-something university student in Toronto, always looking for fun and a new adventure. I hope that my thoughts and ideas will be well liked, or even highly criticized. As we all know, it's better to have bad press than no press at all.

Now, you may be scratching your head and trying to figure out why my blog sounds like an eccentric dessert served in some third world country. "à la mode" can mean several different things, including the most common ice cream on the side of a slice of pie. However, it also refers to something being contemporary, avant-garde, and/or keeping with current styles. I may not necessarily fit those certain guidelines, as styles are constantly being created, but you get the gist of my theme. The elephant part comes from a nickname given to me, which had nothing to do with body size but rather a misunderstood pronunciation of a name.

My start will be rocky, but I hope to slowly lower my Facebook time while increasing my time blogging.