Tuesday’s Top Trailer: A Single Man

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

A Single Man – Opening December 11, 2009



I’m breaking two unwritten rules I’ve been following thus far for this feature: not writing about movies I’ve seen already and not writing about trailers I hadn’t seen before I saw the movie. I’m letting those conditions slide this time because, ever since I first watched this trailer, I haven’t been able to stop playing it over and over. I assure that the movie is phenomenal and that all that is majestic and great about the trailer is applicable tenfold to the film. What really makes the trailer so undeniably incredible is the musical score by Abel Korzeniowski, whose music for the film is absolutely mesmerizing. The lack of dialogue or narration in the trailer reminds me of two recent trailers I really liked. One is the promo for the similarly-titled “A Serious Man,” which was primarily music-driven and showed the same scenes over and over. The other is the teaser for “Garden State,” which used Frou Frou’s “Let Go” and strung together image vignettes in the same way. All three use the same music in their trailers and feature films, but more importantly, the trailers establish a definitive tone and mood for their films. Had I not seen this film already, I think I’d probably be as excited as I was back in 2004 when “Garden State” was about to be released. This trailer, however, one-ups the preview for Zach Braff’s first film for the eye-popping colors and stunning cinematography it highlights in the film. Each scene is more dazzling and visually satisfying than the one before it, and everything looks majestic. Seeing Colin Firth in such an untraditionally serious role signals that this could easily be the breakthrough role of his career (and it is). Julianne Moore looks beautiful, and watching the expressions on her face is simply wondrous. Searching the names of the other two main cast members will produce much quicker results than my film-long attempts to place them. Matthew Goode recently starred in “Watchmen” as superhero Adrian Veldt, and also had significant roles in both “The Lookout” and “Match Point.” The 6’4” Nicholas Hoult may not look as familiar since he’s grown considerably since his breakout role as the kid in 2002’s “About a Boy.” Television stars Ginnifer Goodwin (“Big Love”) and Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”) also pop up briefly in the trailer, and this is one top-notch cast. This trailer is a fantastic glimpse of what the film has to offer, and it’s just as astonishing every time I see it. Check back on December 11th for my review of the film.