Abstract
This essay explores the queer aesthetics of Tom Ford’s A Single Man (2009), an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s classic queer text (1964), and Nocturnal Animals (2016), an adaptation of Austin Wright’s heteronormative thriller Tony and Susan (1993). Neither film is a literal translation from one medium to another, but the essence of each novel is present in the respective adaptations. By examining Ford’s adaptation process, this chapter highlights how a gay-identified director uses cinematic grammar to create films that underscore both emotional connection and alienation—a queer aesthetic. Ford’s fascination with classic Hollywood cinema and his artistic sense as a queer filmmaker allow him to involve his audience in stories that speak to queer sensibilities but make them relevant to the general spectator.
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Acknowledgements
Thank you to Michael Samuel and Esther Wright, who helped me with the final editing of this project; as always, my thanks to Travis Wicklund for his insight, love and support.
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Stoddart, S.F. (2019). The Queer Aesthetics of Tom Ford’s Film Adaptations: A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals. In: Demory, P. (eds) Queer/Adaptation. Palgrave Studies in Adaptation and Visual Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05306-2_4
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