nightlydvdreviewI Am Love
June 28th 2010 07:07
Tilda Swinton seated as the matriarch of the Recchi family
There is no denying the tremendous beauty of Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love. From the stunning Art Deco home of Tilda Swinton as matriarch to the beautiful outfits she is dressed in, the film’s rich visual style seems close to perfection.
The visual feast that Guadagnino presents us with doesn’t negate or outweigh the emotional resonance of the film’s tale. “Happy? Happy is a word that makes one sad,” remarks Betta (Alba Rohrwacher) in a pensively solemn voice. She is the only daughter to Swinton, who plays Emma, the wife of a powerful Milan industrialist, Tancredi Recchi (Pippo Delbono). Betta is speaking to one of her two brothers, Edo (Flavio Parenti), who co-inherits the family business with his father. The Recchi family is a regal one. Their wealth is matched only by their style and steadfast ability to keep up appearances.
Guadagnino’s focus is naturally on Emma, the stunningly elegant wife and mother who binds the Recchi household. Aided by her immaculate dresses and Art Deco surrounds, Tilda Swinton embodies the stifled role magnificently. She is introduced to a chef and friend of Edo’s, Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), who has dreams of starting a restaurant with Edo. Escaping the lovelessness of her marriage to Tancredi, she spirals into a dangerous affair with Antonio.
There’s an amazingly poignant and subtle quality to Swinton’s performance. She depicts Emma as both strong and terribly sad. Originally born in Russia, her identity is now almost exclusively defined by her assimilation into the Recchi family. Crucially, we only learn this fact midway through the film. There is, of course, no happy end to the betrayal of her husband.
When the climax hits, there is only a shell of a woman left. Her devastation and sense of awakening is at once made clear through a most affecting, operatic score. The end truly is Guadagnino’s ode to grand Italian cinema. It’s a story and film which, despite being set at the turn of this century, could easily belong to any bygone era.
4.5 STARS
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