Has there been a more posh and sophisticated trailer all year? Maybe Broken Embraces comes close. In fact, Tom Ford’s precise framing, bold erotic backdrops, and eye-popping splashes of color remind me very much of Amoldovar’s flair for expressive visual extravagance.
If A Single Man has the brains to match its good looks, and somehow fails to make the final ten, then I’ll wonder what happened to the Academy members who annually select Best Picture nominees like Atonement, Brokeback Mountain, Sideways, Lost in Translation, The Hours, Gosford Park , and other films that play to literate stylish taste. In a year of five nominees, A Single Man’s primary rival for the Suave Literati Slot would be An Education. In a year with twice as much space for refined grace, I think there’s room at the top for both of them.
(Replay the Broken Embraces trailer for comparison after the cut.)