I Am Love is an unusual film that begins as an uninviting forray into the politics of a wealthy Italian family and then quickly shifts gears to focus on a passionate love affair that resonates louder than the rest of the film. The grandiose and bravado of filmmaker Luca Guadagnino is almost operatic with both scenes and characters, so as a viewer it’s easy to be taken aback by the symphonic overtures at play.
But at the heart of the film is a restrained and elegant performance by actress and producer Tilda Swinton, who steals the show as a Russian housewife seeking freedom from the shackles of her dull marriage. Swinton known for her delicate features has worked twice in the past with Guadagnino, on The Protagonists and The Love Factory. Serving as both the muse to Guadagnino’s style and acting as the pulse of the film, Swinton’s transformation from unemotional matriarch to consuming lover is really the only thing worth noting out of this otherwise uneven Italian melodrama.
After an opening credits reminiscent of early Italian neo-realism films, the film opens in snow covered Milan at the turn of the millennium in a luxurious mansion, home to the wealthy Recchi family. They are gathered together for the birthday of their senior patriarch, Edoardo Recchi Sr. played by veteran actor Gabriele Ferzetti, who starred in Antonioni’s Le Amiche and L’Avventura. This is one of many cinematic nods in the film to the Italian cinema that paved the way for this modern day homage. A decision is announced to pass the power of their textile business down to son Tancredi (Pippo Delbono) and grandson Edoardo (Flavio Parenti) sending a ripple of emotion towards mother and wife Emma (Swinton), dressed in Fendi like it she was on a magazine cover.
Immediately, Guadagnino is keen to highlight the differences in class and status between characters and how this affects their relationships with one another and their concepts of freedom, a theme that plays throughout the film. A few months later, Emma discovers that her daughter has fallen in love with another woman, something her father would strictly forbid. Unsure of how to process the revelation, Emma slowly begins to realize that she too is struggling with similar repressed emotions. It is the perfect lead in for a steamy romance to blossom with her son’s new best friend Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), an artisan chef and man of the country who sweeps Emma off her feet with food that looks and sounds too delicious to be real.
Food, fashion and sex mix together in a whirlwind of raw sensuality as Emma’s character becomes unhinged from her typical lifestyle and finds freedom in making love in the beautiful countryside. The affair is truly passionate and there are genuine moments of intimacy that you feel honored to be privy to because they feel so real and private. Yet the film seems to have problems lifting itself out of the complex tapestry of the family dynamics and larger than life metaphors. Instead of staying focused on the carnal sexual awakening of our main character we are plunged back into the dreary world set forth earlier and lose interest to what was the one tantalizing moment in the film.
I Am Love is unlike most anything in theaters out right now, with a narrative the drifts moment to moment rather than focusing on a well constructed story. Guadagnino wants to wrap you up in the emotion and passion of both his story and his filmmaking. And while at the center of this neo-renaissance painting is the breathtaking performance from Swinton (did I mention she’s speaking flawless fluent Italian throughout the movie?), the bigger picture never comes into focus and instead feels like a fragmented narrative. However, praise must be given for the bold cinematic statement Gudagnino is attempting to make with his style of storytelling. I Am Love is meant for audiences who want to be indulged with highly stylized melodrama with the added bonus of seeing Swinton swoon in Italian.
6.5 out of 10.
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