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| Colin Firth: five best moments | Colin Firth: five best moments |
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| This week, Colin Firth stars alongside Emily Blunt in Arthur and Mike, a road movie in which Firth plays Wallace, a failed amateur golfer, and Blunt plays Mike, his mysterious companion. Read Peter Bradshaw's review of the film here. | This week, Colin Firth stars alongside Emily Blunt in Arthur and Mike, a road movie in which Firth plays Wallace, a failed amateur golfer, and Blunt plays Mike, his mysterious companion. Read Peter Bradshaw's review of the film here. |
| Firth last month pulled out of his role voicing Paddington bear in the upcoming live action movie. The film had been almost entirely shot before Firth left the project – or "consciously uncoupled" from it, saying: "It's been bittersweet to see this delightful creature take shape and | Firth last month pulled out of his role voicing Paddington bear in the upcoming live action movie. The film had been almost entirely shot before Firth left the project – or "consciously uncoupled" from it, saying: "It's been bittersweet to see this delightful creature take shape and |
| come to the sad realisation that he simply doesn't have my voice" – a decision which this paper praised as a rare example of an actor doing what is best for a project and not his own celebrity. | come to the sad realisation that he simply doesn't have my voice" – a decision which this paper praised as a rare example of an actor doing what is best for a project and not his own celebrity. |
| Firth has excelled in plenty of other films, however. Here are our picks of his performances. Please add your own suggestions and comments in the thread below. | Firth has excelled in plenty of other films, however. Here are our picks of his performances. Please add your own suggestions and comments in the thread below. |
| A Single Man (2009) | A Single Man (2009) |
| Adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel, A Single Man was the directorial debut of Tom Ford, the ex-Gucci creative director. A stunningly beautiful film, Firth gives a nuanced, heartbreaking performance as George, a depressed and repressed British college professor living in California and grieving for his partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). Around him; the 60s swing, mescaline takes the edge off the Cuba missile crisis, and homophobia mingles with the humidity. Firth is brilliant throughout, from portraying the quiet isolation of depression, to the importance of old friendships, to the animal instincts of lust. Peter Bradshaw commented: "Delicately, and rather brilliantly, Firth suggests how his quiet heroism | Adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel, A Single Man was the directorial debut of Tom Ford, the ex-Gucci creative director. A stunningly beautiful film, Firth gives a nuanced, heartbreaking performance as George, a depressed and repressed British college professor living in California and grieving for his partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). Around him; the 60s swing, mescaline takes the edge off the Cuba missile crisis, and homophobia mingles with the humidity. Firth is brilliant throughout, from portraying the quiet isolation of depression, to the importance of old friendships, to the animal instincts of lust. Peter Bradshaw commented: "Delicately, and rather brilliantly, Firth suggests how his quiet heroism |
| is mingled with notes of irony and self-deprecation. It is a poignant, | is mingled with notes of irony and self-deprecation. It is a poignant, |
| deeply compassionate portrait." He earned a best actor Academy nomination for his troubles. | |
| The King's Speech (2010) | The King's Speech (2010) |
| Firth's big Academy award-winning film (which won four Oscars in total, including best picture), the story of George VI's struggle with his speech impediment after the abdication of Edward VIII was unanimously applauded by critics. The film currently has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and we gave it a four star review. "The King's Speech proves there's fizzing life in old-school British | Firth's big Academy award-winning film (which won four Oscars in total, including best picture), the story of George VI's struggle with his speech impediment after the abdication of Edward VIII was unanimously applauded by critics. The film currently has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and we gave it a four star review. "The King's Speech proves there's fizzing life in old-school British |
| period dramas – it's acted and directed with such sweep, verve, darting | period dramas – it's acted and directed with such sweep, verve, darting |
| lightness. George VI's talking cure is gripping", was Peter Bradshaw's verdict. | lightness. George VI's talking cure is gripping", was Peter Bradshaw's verdict. |
| Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) | |
| No list of Colin Firth's greatest moments would be complete without mention of his various meta-portrayals of Darcy. Firth excelled as Jane Austen's original hero in the famous 1995 BBC TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Cue all teenage girls of the 90s hanging around local parks hoping their very own wet-shirted Regency hunk would come striding out of a lake (mostly likely with Capri-Sun packets and fag butts floating on the surface). But it was his turn as Helen Fielding's Mark Darcy – Bridget Jones's love interest – which endeared Firth to a new generation and made his name in Hollywood as a leading man. We swooned over his Reindeer jumper and became all flustered over his pinstripe suits. We liked him, just as he was. Firth really proved his comedy chops here; shame the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was so poor. | |
| Girl With a Pearl Earring (2004) | Girl With a Pearl Earring (2004) |
| Playing 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer opposite a then 19-year-old Scarlett Johansson as his muse, Firth pulled off the difficult task of portraying a real-life artist (Derek Jacobi as Francis Bacon take note). The movie, adapted from the Tracy Chevalier novel, has truly beautiful cinematography to match the output of its protagonist. In a four-star review we called it a "a tremendously intelligent and detailed | |
| homage" and noted that "the production design by Ben Van Os is outstanding". Worth a watch for art buffs and non-art buffs alike. | homage" and noted that "the production design by Ben Van Os is outstanding". Worth a watch for art buffs and non-art buffs alike. |
| And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) | And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) |
| An oft-overlooked film based on the quietly affecting memoir of Blake Morrison's experience of remembering his father before his death. This moving film, directed by Anand Tucker with a screenplay by David Nicholls, featured great performances all round (including Jim Broadbent as the titular father), but it was Firth's depiction of an adult trying to make sense of his messy emotional childhood (it was ever thus), and decode Philip Larkin's commonly quoted maxim that was the standout turn here. A beautiful film which deserved a wider audience at the time and is well worth revisiting, we gave it four stars on its release. |