This movie is largely all Colin Firth all the time. With a little tiny bit of Matthew Goode as his long term partner, Julianne Moore as his best friend, and Nicolaus Holdt, as the man who saves his life.
The film opens with the death of Jim. He and George have been together for 16 years, in what is depicted as a very companionable marriage. The time is 1962, the place is Los Angeles, and so no one talks about two men who live together, but everyone knows their relationship. No one acknowledges it. Not family and for the most part not friends.
Jim's death plunges George into a state of numbness. He is not allowed at the funeral. He is not allowed to openly grieve, he doesn't feel alive, and so he resolutely plans his death. Methodically he takes care of each detail, talking to no one, seeking no counsel. Only one person notices, a student in his class, who equally resolutely tracks him down and stops him. It is a film that unfolds in what feels like slow motion, with a script that is paced perfectly for the content, and the acting lives up to the scripts potential. A beautiful film about how hard it is to have your secret smashed, to lose the one thing you live for, and yet to move on.
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