4. The Queer Aesthetics of Tom Ford’s Film Adaptations: A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals

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.