But now it's finally open and I can continue with my raves. This is one of the year's most indelible and unforgettable visions. You owe it to yourself to take the time and get lost in its majestic melodrama.

Colin Firth plays George Falconer, an English professor in Los Angeles who at the beginning of a November day in 1962, gets a phone call that his partner and lover of 16 years has died in a car accident.

The phone call is rendered even more heartbreaking when the family member on the other end of the phone informs him that he can't go to the funeral, that it's for "family" only.

As was typical for the many gay men at the time, he has a dual and closeted lifestyle with his true emotions directed inward; his inability to fully grieve.

George tells himself he just had to get through this day. By carrying around a revolver in his bag, suicide would seem to be the end of the path. But when a spry young student takes an interest in him, a ray of light shines down on George offering a glimmer of hope.

Directed by fashion icon Tom Ford, one can't help but link this movie to "Revolutionary Road," the tepid suburban tragedy based on Richard Yates's acclaimed 1961 novel.

But "A Single Man" seems to have gotten everything right that "Road" got wrong. While "Road's" examination of suburban fears in post-war America felt out of date and played out, "A Single Man" reflects poignantly on this fearful period in time with historical reflection.

Ford keeps the narrative simple and clear of salacious plotting, instead coasting elegantly on his searing tone of mystery and melancholy. The presence of George's gun keeps the threat of death or suicide in our minds.

George's interactions with other potential lovers, within the context of homosexuality in the 1960s, brings another level of fear and intrigue.

We can also enjoy the film purely on the level of Ford's classically composed frames, each of which are minimalist treasures. Horizontal lines are consistently and carefully placed in the foreground and background to direct our eyes to Ford's main character, his single man.

Though "A Single Man" tells a potent story about public repression of emotions forced upon gay men, the film succeeds as a universal love story, anchored by one of the year's most unforgettable performances.

E-mail: snyderreviews@hotmail.com