In Contention

‘A Single Man’ poster

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Talk about a missed opportunity. The film boasts one of the year’s most unique visual sensibilities and the best they can do is slap Tom Ford’s trademark lettering over an already-ubiquitous still? And call me cynical, but are they trying to hide the fact that it’s about a gay man? Anyway, thanks to Glenn for pointing it out.

A Single Man

Comments

24 responses to “‘A Single Man’ poster”

  1. geha714 Avatar
    geha714

    ¿Are they trying to hide the fact that it’s about a gay man?

    IMHO… Yes.

  2. Sound Designer Dan Avatar
    Sound Designer Dan

    Wow. What a boring poster.

  3. The Other James D. Avatar

    What is WRONG with posters these days?

    It’s baffling that such a striking trailer could have such a subdued poster in contrast.

  4. aspect ratio Avatar
    aspect ratio

    It may not necessarily be so much about hiding that it’s about a gay man as it is wanting to put the two marketable actors in the film on the poster, and honestly I’d rather see that image than it being a “floating” heads poster or something like that, just because they need to cram both Firth and Moore onto it.

    That said, it’s a pretty dull poster. The image isn’t terrible, but the overall design lacks all and any kind of sensibility and proportion, an amateur effort.

  5. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    If I knew nothing about this film, I’d think it it some stylish 60s set romance starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.

    Most people would rather see that film (or be sold that film). You can’t blame TWC.

  6. Bryan Avatar
    Bryan

    Ummm, people actually get paid to make these?

    (Then again, Michael Bay gets paid to make Transformers.)

  7. Armando Avatar

    Tom Ford: Great fashion designer but horrible at graphics (I’m guessing he had something to do with the poster).

  8. Guy Lodge Avatar

    I’m guessing he had very little to do with the poster, actually.

  9. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    I wouldn’t call it horrible, but it definitely was a missed opportunity. The trailer was SO good, we all wanted the poster to be just as good.

    But I don’t necessarily think they’re hiding the gay story as much as they are highlighting Firth and Moore. Not really complaining about that.

  10. /3rtfu11 Avatar
    /3rtfu11

    You guys have weird taste. There are so many badly photoshopped poster art in the world that something simple and elegant gets dogged for not being loud and gaudy.

  11. Benito Delicias Avatar
    Benito Delicias

    this is just awful….I don’t have a problem with a movie like this having a single shot from the film as the poster, but there must be a better shot than this one…which is basically the same that has been going around everywhere…

    it does look like an international poster, which is not always a compliment, it looks like those posters that barely make an effort, the header is what makes it like that…the huge title the venice thing and the two actors like that, that’s international poster right there….

    it doesn’t look good…

  12. Guy Lodge Avatar

    Nobody’s asking for anything loud and gaudy. I just want something as distinctively stylized as the film. And one that gives even a faint inkling of, you know, what the hell it’s about.

  13. interstellar Avatar
    interstellar

    the poster is beautiful , but now it looks like it’s a woody allen comedy….

  14. Marshall Avatar

    Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks Firth looks like Ewan MacGregor here…

  15. BerkeleyGirl Avatar
    BerkeleyGirl

    Julianne’s gorgeous – getting better every year – but also looks like a young Ann-Margret.

  16. daveylow Avatar
    daveylow

    This poster is very similar to the one for An Education and it’s misleading, though the characters portrayed by Firth and Moore in the film did have a fling in years past. I wonder if TWC will come up with yet another poster as they continue to promote the film. They often change the look of their ads to go along with what they are trying to promote–Firth’s performance, best director, best screenplay, etc.

  17. Benito Delicias Avatar
    Benito Delicias

    to Marshall: yes…he looks like Ewan McGreggor…

    it’s just like the Funny People poster where Seth Rogen didn’t look like himself…he looked like….Colin Firth.

  18. Guy Lodge Avatar

    So, to complete the pattern, Ewan McGregor needs to look like Seth Rogen in the poster for his next movie.

  19. Frank Lee Avatar
    Frank Lee

    No complaints from me: the image is glamorous and beautiful. And it has such an obvious gay sensibility that the mass audience would have to be pretty obtuse not to register that.

  20. The Other James D. Avatar

    Ah yes, for Ewan’s next film, a poster will be made of Jim Carrey gazing longingly into an oddly-Seth-Rogenish Ewan McGregor as one bends the other over a prison bunk.

    It could certainly both widen the audience *and* compensate for the lack of gay in this poster!

  21. […] (After the jump) Tom Ford’s A Single Man gets a new poster and it’s mighty hip. [In Contention] […]

  22. Garth Avatar
    Garth

    The film is called A SINGLE MAN . . . . . what in the hell is she doing there?

  23. Poppyseed Avatar
    Poppyseed

    I don’t know why people are complaining -It’s glamorous, chic, stylish and classy. In other words, something worthy of Tommy.

    Tom likes sutlety, ambiguity, sexiness; to do what some people are suggesting on this thread he would have to go for the literal and that’s rather boring….