recently, the bbc's 1995 adaptation of jane austen's pride and prejudice replayed on the abc. at one stage or another, i think there have been women the world over who delighted when colin firth's mr darcy emerged from the pond; his simple white, see-through attire very nicely moulded to his physique. thank you. a collective, and oh so polite, "oh!" gasp could be heard from bbc and abc viewers, then and now. the simple truth is, though, we all had the same thing on our minds: an elongated "ooooh" followed closely by a "yes. i'd shag that man senseless". we became wrapped up in romantic fantasies, wishing for our very own mr darcy. or was it wishing for our very own brooding colin firth?
that was 1995, and since then, firth has been well typecast as the brooding, intense, proper, single man in romantic comedies. eventually, though, he gets his girl. how can we forget that line from 'bridget jones' diary', "i like you very much... just as you are"?
and while he plays loveable, albeit haughty, characters, you can't help but think that his work has been a little same-same, and lacking in emotion. however, in the last few years that typecast firth seems to have broken free of these stereotypical roles and produced his best work. i am thinking of three films in particular which have impressed me, and cemented him as a fine actor in my mind.
michael winterbottom is a favourite film/documentary maker of mine. so i was keen to see 'genova' [2008]. i came out of the cinema a little disappointed. not for the direction or acting; rather for the unsteadiness of the camera, which left me disconcerted at times, particularly in the later scenes. in the days following, the film wouldn't leave my thoughts, as i unraveled it and sewed it back together. eventually, i concluded that i did, in fact, enjoy the film. i had recognised locations that i had visited in the city, so there was a strange familiarity as the characters wandered the colourful tapestry of laneways.
'a single man' [2009] is the evocative directorial debut of fashion designer tom ford, and each frame of the film could be a single photograph, such is the voluptuous sensory and visual feast. the film follows a man's [george - firth] desperate attempt to escape his single existence, after the death of his life partner, jim [matthew goode]. taking place over the course of a single day in 1963, george dreams of a corporeal encounter with jim. the title takes on a double meaning, referring not only to a literal solitude, but an emotional one too. the stellar cast is completed by julianne moore [also fantastic in the recent 'the kids are alright'] and nicholas hoult ['skins'].
finally, 'the king's speech' [2010], also staring geoffrey rush [a favourite of mine], michael gambon [loved him in 'the cook, the thief, his wife and her lover'] and helena bonham carter [very good in a serious role], would have to be firth's most acclaimed role to date. and possibly my favourite.
but it is not just acting that firth takes pleasure in. he is an outspoken activist, and is an avid supporter of oxfam international and survival international, an ngo that defends the rights of tribal peoples. further, firth's wife, livia, is known for her upcycling of dresses worn to formal events [the green carpet challenge - her blog on vogue.com explores this]. often, she finds a second hand dress and has it tweaked to suit the occasion. and well, it's ideologies such as this that make me love colin firth just that little bit more.
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