The Weinstein Company

George (Colin Firth) is mourning after the death of his lover, and Charley (Julianne Moore) is his only real friend.

I took a chocolate lollipop to "A Single Man" but the movie was so enthralling, so captivating from first scene to last, that I forgot to even unwrap my little treat.

Credit is due Tom Ford for crafting such a fine picture on his first outing as director, and Colin Firth for his striking performance in the title role.

He plays George Falconer, a college professor who has been unable to recover from the accidental death of his lover, Jim (Matthew Goode), some months earlier.

George is fifty-something, an impeccable dresser and gay at a time (1962) when the closet door was usually kept firmly shut. George is tightly restrained in his relations with other people; post-Jim, his only real friend is a female neighbor he calls Charley. She's played with great zeal by Julianne Moore.

"A Single Man" takes place over a single day that George has decided will be his last. Depressed and still numbed by the death of his beloved 16-year partner, he has concluded that continued living holds no allure.

Of his resolve there is no doubt, for George has a revolver and bullets and spends part of the day rehearsing the final act. He teaches a class, cleans out his office and safe-deposit box, leaves notes for all and sundry, and passes a touching last evening with Charley.

When George makes a late run for smokes and a final drink, he encounters one of his more importunate male students. Their meeting affects George's plans in an unexpected way. The movie's final twist is yet to come, however. Though surprising, it brings "A Single Man" to a pleasingly symmetrical conclusion.

Ford is best known as one of the world's top fashion designers. He has been accused of over-designing the movie.

Viewers certainly will see his sense of style in every perfectly composed frame, in the cast's perfect costumes, in the perfect props and setting of every scene. Mood changes and flashbacks are signalled with a revolving color scheme. The tonal changes seem unnecessary -- Firth's modulated but richly expressive performance can do the job -- but mostly stop short of intrusiveness. For me, the whole package works and works well.

"A Single Man" is based on a story by the late Christopher Isherwood. It was written for the screen by Ford and David Scearce. Oscar attention seems inevitable.