Madonna’s second foray into film directing naturally raises more scrutiny than is focused on her new film itself, which is a pity because W.E. produces some memorable moments among its flawed narrative.

In fact, had you not known it was the star in the writer-director’s seat, this love story still makes for a haunting picture of obsession that is pleasantly surprising to watch, and offers some strong female performances.

W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women separated by six decades – Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough), the American divorcée King Edward VIII (James D’Arcy) abdicated the British throne for back in 1936, and New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) living in 1998 who is obsessed with Simpson and what she perceives was the ultimate love story. Winthrop’s research that includes visiting the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor Estate reveals that the couple’s life together – as with Wally’s own troubled marriage – was not as perfect as she first imagined.

The most significant thing you take away from W.E. is Andrea Riseborough’s huge talent – star of Brighton Rock and Made In Dagenham, and the exciting knowledge at how her career should go stratospheric after her Wallis portrayal, regardless of any criticism of the director or film itself. She is a creature of pained and compelling feminine beauty in this, an apt chameleon of emotions and thoughts stuck in a daydreamy, if rather bizarre and often uneven time-travelling narrative.

As Wallis in the story’s flashbacks, Riseborough is perfectly cast to fully flesh out the image and the workings of the woman behind one of the biggest 20^th Century royal scandals – even if Madonna only touches on Simpson’s Nazi Germany sympathies with the odd comment in the script. With D’Arcy commendably playing the confused but besotted ‘puppy dog’ Edward or ‘David’, Riseborough is able to relay both Wallis’s intentional and unintentional manoeuvres that ultimately conclude with her living like a trapped bird in a gilded cage. As this is a favourable Simpson portrayal, you cannot help but feel a slight dig at ingrained British conceit; the cynics among us might draw parallels with the American superstar’s own failed relationship with a Brit on these shores.

The scenes from the past are beautifully imagined and elegantly shot with the same attention to detail and chimerical quality as Tom Ford’s own tragic love story, A Single Man. However, the present ones with stunning Cornish playing the unhappy wife of a philandering British doctor feel confused and often claustrophobic, without the breathing space to adequately set the mood at times. Even with Cornish’s bereft allure as a woman trying to find happiness within her Simpson obsession, Madonna’s colourful mixture of composition and odd framing distracts from the equally fascinating story of an affluent female trapped in a miserable existence. Madonna has honed some engaging female performances, and Cornish is mesmerising as Wally as Riseborough is as Wallis.

There are some bizarre tangents to the film that grate and rudely awaken you from the dream, such as abused Wally’s escape to her lover’s loft apartment and her subsequent aimless wandering through downtown NYC that feels unnecessary, especially as she then finds the inner strength to carry on in her international quest to expose the truth behind the Windsor affair. It is at this point in the film that the contemporary tale gains any compassionate ground with the past, only for Madonna to opt for a lazy New York fairy-tale ending in Central Park, like something brash out of a rom-com.

Madonna’s directing inexperience aside, her vision for W.E. is an admirable one about two strong women; she gets to paint one of her apparent American heroines in a different light, however manipulative that may sound, in order to suggest how such a love affair remained so strong among public condemnation. Perhaps it’s the romantic in us all, but W.E. is a passionate love story you can easily venture into, without trying to rewrite history – its main weakness being the contemporary tale it uses to draw muddled parallels with, even though both its female leads do splendidly with the material.

***~~ (3/5)

Last week HeyUGuys were invited to attend the Alfred Dunhill BAFTA A Life in Pictures event and in an extended interview on stage at BAFTA Headquarters along with critic, writer and broadcaster Francine Stock, was BAFTA Award Winner and Academy Award Nominee Colin Firth. Greeted with rapturous applause, Firth’s appearance had the audience on tenterhooks as we were privy to a thoroughly engaging evening dedicated to one of Britain’s most respected, versatile and beloved actors.

Having appeared in a variety of critically-acclaimed television, film and theatre productions, Firth’s career shows no signs of slowing down at the age of 50. Much like a fine wine, his body of work just keeps on getting better and better. From his humble family roots in Grayshott, Hampshire, Firth’s journey into acting began as a sprightly 5 year old, whose determination to act was made touchingly clear by his penchant for playing dress-up and performing in school pantomimes. Fascinated by storytelling as a child, Firth’s ambition to become an actor was fully realised at 14 years old.

Encouraged by a certain teacher with whom he disclosed as having a crush on, the newly liberated and inspired teenage public school boy set his sights on an acting career. Born into a family of academics, Firth’s early years were spent living in Nigeria and mid-west America. He soon returned to Britain aged 11 and spent the best part of his secondary school years focusing on his theatre and drama studies, a departure from his missionary/teaching parents. After enrolling into the London Drama Centre, Firth admitted he felt more cut out for the avant garde than he did about getting into film work, thus focusing on more cutting edge experimental theatre instead.

Some of his earlier notable TV and film appearances ranging from ‘Lost Empires’ and ‘Tumbledown’, to ‘Valmont’ and ‘Circle of Friends’ were well received, but it wasn’t until he went onto star in the BBC’s hugely successful Jane Austen adaptation of ‘Pride And Prejudice’ that Firth was really thrust into the mainstream. Unenthused by the predictability of the character of Mr Darcy or the prospect of a costume drama being a hit, Firth turned down the role that made him a household name… several times. Taking a further two months to reconsider, Firth admitted that he only agreed to accept the part of Mr Darcy because he didn’t want it to go to anyone else and welcomed the prospect of it propelling him into mainstream acclaim. And what a sound decision that was!

Not only did ‘Pride and Prejudice’ go onto become an award-winning period piece for the BBC, it catapulted Firth into international heart-throb status. Darcy’s legacy has continued to follow him around ever since.  When asked about the longevity of Mr Darcy’s popularity among fans (self-dubbed “a national phenomenon”), he admitted his continued surprise and astonishment of it all. Known for playing extremely intense, repressed characters, the fear of being typecast did not dissuade him from pursuing his other infamous Mr Darcy character, in Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. Accepting this role, which was coincidentally created and inspired by his Pride and Prejudice’s Darcy counterpart, is further proof of his highly commendable good humour. Never more clear than in this delightful interview conducted by Bridget Jones herself!! You really should check it out – it’s a fabulous treat for Firth and Bridget fans alike.

Continuing with the light-hearted theme, Firth reminisced about his experiences of working on the worldwide smash hit movie ‘Mamma Mia!’. Openly unapologetic about his pleasure in seeing critics and sceptics won over by this undeniably fun flick, Firth emphasised his disdain for karaoke, but admitted that he loved the feel-good fun factor of this project.

We were then treated to a snippet from the 2005 film, ‘Where the Truth Lies’, which co-stars Kevin Bacon. Based on the acclaimed novel by Rupert Holmes, Firth described it as, “a film about extraordinary guilt and bizarre tension between life off and on stage”. When asked by Stock about his particular interest in performing desperate roles onscreen, Firth went onto say that he’s “fascinated by the way people hide their true nature, their desperate and anxious sides”. And that as an actor, he’s especially drawn to those qualities, as seen in his stunning portrayal of Professor George Falconer in ‘A Single Man’.

‘A Single Man’ earned Firth his first ever BAFTA win as best actor and could not have been more well deserved. His strikingly moving performance is truly unforgettable, as was the experience of filming it, apparently. Taking 21 days to shoot, Firth described how lonely it made him feel filming so much of it on his own. Although it gave him an enormous sense of freedom, he emphasised how much he loved the experience of working with director Tom Ford and co-star Julianne Moore, even though they only filmed together for a short three days. It would be impossible to summarise this heart-breakingly beautiful and stylish film into just a few short sentences, so you can read Jon’s review of A Single Man here instead. It’s a quality piece of work, and will stick with you long after you’ve seen it.

 Firth’s filmography continues to please critics and audiences alike, and more so than ever in the upcoming release of highly anticipated ‘The King’s Speech’. With an exquisite acting ensemble, The King’s Speech is an epic true story based on the relationship between King George VI and Lionel Logue (his speech therapist). In the years leading up to his rise as King, George VI is forced to painfully confront his speech impediment in order to fulfill his public speaking duties.

A huge hit at the Toronto and London Film Festivals this year, The King’s Speech continues to reign triumphant winning the Best British Independent Film, Best Actor for Colin Firth, Best Supporting Actor and Actress for Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, and David Seidler for his screenplay at last week’s British Independent Film Awards. Speaking candidly with Stock, Firth’s interest in this role was piqued by the psychology of stammering. Initially mortified by director Tom Hooper’s suggestion that almost every line be delivered with a stammer, he was worried that the audience would be unable to deal with the fatigue of it all.

Ultimately, it appears that this was an unnecessary concern as all eyes are firmly set on the upcoming Oscars as The King’s Speech continues to generate huge early Oscar buzz. It’s hotly tipped to scoop the Best Picture and Best Actor awards, after having already achieved a “must-see” status. Heralded as a masterpiece and film of the year by many movie critics, the countdown to the Oscars is on.

Our special thanks to BAFTA  for a truly unforgettable evening with one of Britain’s finest actors. Firth is an extremely charming and charismatic man and embodies the idea of a true English gentleman. His body of work is incredibly interesting and diverse and his international success is a credit to the UK Film industry. We wish him all the very best at the Oscars next year. The King’s Speech is released in the UK on Friday 7th January, 2011.

We’ve just received word from the powers that be that the jury for the 2011 Orange Wednesday Rising Star Award at this years BAFTA Awards has been chosen and there’s quite a few familiar faces.

This year the jury will include fashion guru turned director, Tom Ford, Actor Peter Sarsgaard, Actress Natascha McElhone, casting director, Lucy Bevan who worked with Peter on An Education, director Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Prince of Persia and the Sands of Time), Jamie Graham, deputy editor from Total Film and Robbie Collin, Film Editor for The News of the World, many of whom will be familiar with him on Twitter.  Ben Drew aka Plan B will act as Jury Spokesperson while all the above will be overseen by the Jury Chair, Finola Dwyer (producer – An Education, Me Without You, Backbeat and chair of BAFTA’s Film Committee).

The list goes on but I’ll let you read on if you want to find out more below in the official press release. We also have a short video with Peter Sarsgaard who tells us about his first big break in Boys Don’t Cry and how he enjoyed a good debate over the new rising stars.

Previous winners include Noel Clarke, Shia LaBeouf with the most recent winner at last year’s event being Kristen Stewart. Tradition dictates that the person who won it the previous year present the award to the following winner so will Stewart attend this year? I guess we’ll find out!

So, who are your rising stars of 2011? Let us know in the comments below. For me, it’s Hayley Atwell all the way!

Read on for the full press release:

PLAN B AND TOM FORD JOIN STAR-STUDDED JURY

FOR THE 2011 ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD

Top talent join stars including Natascha McElhone and Peter Sarsgaard on the jury for Orange’s esteemed award

London, 2 November 2010: Last night, Ben Drew, aka Plan B, joined fellow jurors to cast their final votes for the 2011 Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award longlist. Orange’s accolade for up and coming talent is the only award at the Orange British Academy Film Awards to be voted for by the public. Voting opens when nominees are announced on 10 January 2011, via www.orange.co.uk/bafta

Ben Drew is better known in the music world as award-winning singer Plan B. However, Drew has built a wealth of experience working in the film industry from directing the short film Michelle to acting in films such as Harry Brown alongside Michael Caine, and Noel Clarke’s Adulthood and 4.3.2.1.  In Autumn 2011 Ben will release his directorial debut Ill Manors, a gritty urban drama about respect and survival, set on the streets of East London. The film’s cast reads like a who’s who of the UK’s finest in rising talent, making Ben a natural choice for the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star jury.

Ben Drew comments: “It was a huge honour to be asked to be on the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award jury. My experience of casting for Ill Manors gave me an incredible insight into the amazing pool of young talent in the UK and made me feel inspired to create the projects that will allow me to work with them. I have also been lucky enough to star alongside some of these guys over the years so I am looking forward to bringing this insight and inspiration along to the jury.”

Tom Ford is another of this year’s multi-talented jurors, an icon in the world of fashion and highly respected within the film industry after his award-winning directorial debut A Single Man hit our screens this year.

Tom Ford said: “I am honored to have been asked to be on the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star jury. This is such an important award in that it supports the new generation of actors and actresses and also reflects the tastes of the cinema going public – who ultimately are the best ones to judge who they want to see more of on their screens.”

Now in its sixth year, the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award has set a standard for identifying talent destined for super stardom. Previous winners include James McAvoy in 2006, Eva Green in 2007, Shia LaBeouf in 2008, Noel Clarke in 2009 and Kristen Stewart in 2010. Potential rising stars were proposed by BAFTA members and film industry insiders to create an initial list of contenders. The jury, consisting of actors, casting directors, film directors, media representatives and chaired by a member of the BAFTA Film Committee, then selects a longlist of eight. These eight will be voted on by Orange Wednesdays customers, who will determine the final five nominees. The nominees will then go up for public vote in January to decide the winner.

Finola Dwyer, jury chair for the award, comments: “We have a very esteemed jury this year from director Tom Ford, who made such a dazzling directing debut last year with A Single Man to Peter Sarsgaard and Ben Drew. Many of the jury have discovered, worked alongside or supported rising stars throughout their careers. The distinguished jury is a reflection of the importance and high regard the film industry places on the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award.”

This year’s Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award jury is made up of:  Ben Drew (director and musician), Lucy Bevan (casting director), Tom Ford (director), Peter Sarsgaard (actor), Natascha McElhone (actress), Mike Newell (director), Laura Symons (publicist), Charles Gant (film journalist), Jamie Graham (Total Film), Larushka Ivan-Zadeh (Metro), Hannah Marriott (Grazia), Geoff Lloyd (Absolute Radio) and Robbie Collin (News of the World). The jury is chaired by Oscar-nominated producer Finola Dwyer.

The award honours a young actor or actress whose talent has inspired popular acclaim from the British public. BAFTA members and the film industry were invited to recommend up and coming performers who have appeared in several feature films, with at least one of those films released in the current awards year, 1 January to 31 December 2010. The award has been renamed the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star award this year, to reflect the new level of involvement that Orange Wednesdays customers will play in deciding upon the final five that will go up for the public vote.

The award was created in honour of Mary Selway, the highly respected BAFTA-winning casting director whose career spanned three decades and over ninety films before she died in 2004. She worked with notable directors such as Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott, contributing to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters.

Ends

Tom Ford’s feature debut is a triumph of style and substance, of ecstatic emotions and deadening grief which among its merits is the chance it gives for its lead, Colin Firth, to realise his potential as an actor with a performance worthy of the awards nominations it is receiving. He has done some fine work in recent years and, while making a living out of the legacy of Mr. Darcy in comedies rarely worthy of the name, in A Single Man his quality shines.

Firth’s typecasting is not a surprise. It happened when he emerged drenched from a swim in the BBC’s iconic 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejduice, further stapled to the subconscious with his roles as Mark Darcy (see what they did there?) in Bridget Jones’ Diary. He was eternally the emotionally repressed, upper class snob, morally and socially ambiguous, but in Tom Ford’s film Firth is afforded the opportunity to shed the light, literary mask and bring an emotionally complexity to his role as English Professor George Falconer, an Englishman abroad in 1962 America, a gay man whose life is perfectly settled and untroubled, until a sudden tragic event happen. His emotions are repressed but not concealed, his public identity constructed not because of pride or embarrassment, but for survival. Firth is magnetic in the role, and leads us through every moment of this film with grace and considerable character.

Witness the moment in the film when he learns, via a phone call from a perturbed and uncomfortable family member, that his lover has died in a car crash. The agony, the horrific realisation as the force of the sudden, unlooked for despair hits him, is choking. Ford’s camera interrogates Firth’s face as it falls, as his world shrinks, and the strongest bond he has is cut, and his future nothing but a collection of loose ends. All the while he is unable to find release, he cannot mourn because he shouldn’t exist. To be denied the ability to mourn is one step beyond pain, yet Firth remains composed, his words carefully chosen and the mask does not crack. It is a powerful scene, and Firth plays it perfectly.

Ford’s decision to begin the film with the death of Jim and tell the love story in reverse, through fragmented moments, is a bold move, and as it crosses the slow forward motion through George’s self-proclaimed last day the weight of the film is given time to build, and it carries us through to the bitter end. The disquieting sense of grief is played against the normality of a day’s work, it is a heavy burden for Firth and for us, he is angry against his better judgement, the futility of his day and of his endless guilt and regret.

Tom Ford brings his experience in design and fashion as well as architectural appreciation, to bear on each shot in the film. The production design evokes the early 1960s with a flair and depth, rendering a perfect background for the tragic play to unfold. There is a make or break moment when, as George stumbles into flirtatious conversation with a student (Nicholas Hoult, in a superb turn) and the grainy, diluted tones the film has displayed thus far begins to flush with colour. This happens again and again, as the blood returns to George’s heart at the sight of topless male tennis players, or the aforementioned flirtation, and in particular in the random encounter with Jon Kortajarena, playing an impossibly perfect young man, acted out under the watchful gaze of a poster of Janet Leigh’s terrified eyes in a Psycho poster.

The artifice of the colour blooms and the back to front dovetailing narratives may put some people off, to me it worked and drew me in. Ford’s camera is intimate and detached in equal measure. It is a bold move and succeeds on every level.

Ford offers up close ups of facial features, jump cuts during a conversation of Firth’s gaze moving, focusing on eyes shadowed in blues and greens, pink lips talking, the male and female bodies fragmented. He sees a family in the garden of a house opposite his, there is no sound, no connection to his life. As he drives past them on his way to work the camera slows and his eyes meets each family members, a social facade is erected with smiles and nods, then the road opens up before him and his last day continues. On leaving his house he placed a gun in his briefcase, and set out his life in insurance papers and signed documents, there is no sigh of regret; this is one long goodbye.

There are moments of the darkest comedy as Firth fluffs the pillows he uses to prop his head up as the gun is placed in his mouth, then is uncomfortable so he rearranges them, again and again. Julianne Moore has a ostensibly flighty part to play as Charley, Firth’s English friend, immune to his sexuality and hoping to hook up, a desire that is woefully misguided and their scenes together are full of spiteful banter and nostalgic wallowing. One moment, when they are past the giggly drunk stage and moving headlong towards an inescapable self-pity, they are caught under the spell of Billie Holiday’s Stormy Weather. There is an awkward dancing, a swirling miasma of regret is evoked and all that is left is for George to deny Charley’s inevitable advances, and leave, ready to die at his own hand.

Matthew Goode plays Jim, George’s lover, in flashback and their loving, teasing chatter is filled with knowing allusions and double-speak, and it is seductive. Goode’s performance is pitch perfect, essentially a tragic figure unencumbered with knowledge of his fate, his ghost permeates every frame and we are swept up in his wake. There is such sterling support from the rest of the cast but this is Firth’s film. His studied reserve, and complete rapture under the spell of forbidden love, is at turn flirtatious and profound. That Ford, in his feature debut, was able to elicit this performance from an actor playing so close to his typecasting is astounding.

I cannot recommend this movie enough, worth it to enjoy Colin Firth and Ford’s direction, the subtle and sad detailing of grief and the beautiful moment of release at the end. Sublime.

Yesterday the Oscar nominations were announced with a nod going Colin Firth in his role in the Tom Ford directed movie, A Single Man. We here at HeyUGuys have a sneaky suspicion that he may in fact win it! But to tide us over for the next 5 weeks, we have these awesome new images from the movie. I think they might possibly be the best still I’ve seen taken from any film. Do you agree?

Much like the images that we put up yesterday for Cemetery Junction, this awesome gallery look uber retro, just like they’re supposed to. If you missed it, we also have some footage from the UK Premiere of A Single Man which is released in cinemas 12th February. Our review will follow in the next few days.

It’s Oscar Nomination day today and at 13.30 GMT, Anne Hathaway will be announcing the nominations at some unearthly hour in a hotel in Los Angeles. We here at HeyUGuys are big supporters of Moon and all things Duncan Jones and Sam Rockwell but we’ve got a sneaky suspicion that Colin Firth could not only get nominated but may win the Oscar for Best Actor.  I guess we’ll find out later on today if our suspicions of them even being nominated will come to fruition but in the meantime, here’s some footage from the UK Premiere of A Single Man that took place last night.

The  footage includes in interviews with director, Tom Ford and cast members, Colin Firth, Matthew Goode and BAFTA Rising Star Nominee Nicholas Hoult for you to feature on your site. Enjoy it and come back later to find out if we were right about Firth or join us when we’ll be live tweeting as events unfold.

Here’s a brand new poster for Colin Firth’s new movie, ‘A Single Man ‘which won him the best actor prize at the Venice Film Festival. A Single Man is directed by Tom Ford and also stars Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode.

Here’s the synopsis and you can click the poster to enlarge. A Single Man is released 12th February 2010.

George Falconer (Colin Firth) is a 52-year-old British college professor struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters, ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim.

Here’s the new trailer for Tom Ford’s ‘A Single Man’. The movie stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, and Ginnifer Goodwin and it’s set for release 12th February. Currently, at the time of writing, it has 8.5 out of 181 votes on IMDb as well as winning awards at the Venice Film Festival. Expecting good things from this one.

Synopsis: ‘A Single Man’ is based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, it is the story of a British college professor (Colin Firth) who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner. The story is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life.

A Single Man in HD

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