A Single Man

CHICAGO – In the four years since the pilot of “Mad Men,” there has been an obligatory and opportunistic surge of ‘60s-themed media, capitalizing on the rising nostalgia for the era of civil rights marches and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

CHICAGO – I wonder if more people had seen Colin Firth’s incredible performance in “A Single Man” if he wouldn’t have been considered more of a frontrunner at last year’s Academy Awards. Easily one of the best male performances of last year (along with Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” and Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart), Firth’s work here is revelatory, displaying depth heretofore only hinted at by this already underrated actor.

CHICAGO – They came, we saw and in the end, who conquered? HollywoodChicago.com Senior Writer Patrick McDonald weighs in on the Top Ten of 2009. From the rich palette of choices, the challenge is always to winnow it down to ten.

CHICAGO – There is a certain madness in the shock of grieving over a loved one who has passed that manifests itself in particular ways. Colin Firth interprets those emotions intuitively in the captivating “A Single Man.”