I Am Love

Probably as operatic as a movie can be where nobody sings.

It may seem a bit long and slow for those who used to fast-paced movies, but it worth your while eventually, thanks to the magnitude of some scenes that deliver very special vibe. I believe its artistic and creative value worth your while and it's probably worth many rewatches as well, to dwell into the details.

One of my favorite movies of the last few years was Cold War. That movie felt like a kind of epic about a relationship that was never allowed to take off. It was big and eventful and beautifully told. In a sense I Am Love reminds of an epic but in a very different way. Lets just put it out there - I don't know any other actress other than Tilda Swinton that could this off. I think Ebert said it best - she doesn't emote emotions so much as she embodies them. So much is said without her saying anything. You feel as though you can see right down into her soul. This movie could have easily devolved into another movie about a housewife that has an awakening in her 40's - the movie ends up being so much more than that because of its understated approach.

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A half successful attempt at elevating trashy melodrama. It’s filled with great performances, terrific direction, amazing visuals and off kilter sound choices (which sometimes get overdramatic); any memorable moment can be attributed to those aspects. Loved any scene involving food or sex, which seems to be a speciality of Guadagnino. The narrative, however, isn’t all that strong. The corporate takeover subplot is pretty much devoid of any tension, whereas the main cheating/midlife crisis plotline also left me a bit cold (no real attempt to bring any substance to that, it’s not trying to be _American Beauty_). There’s an interesting turn at the end of act 2, but ultimately everything resolves in a fairly predictable way. It’s alright, nothing great. I’d probably hate it with a lesser director.

5.5/10

Pros: The settings (i will never get enough of the mountain ranges in Italy), the cinematography, the score, the costumes, the :asterisk_symbol:Tilda Swinton:asterisk_symbol:

Cons: I think the first hour could have been better spent characterizing or building more tension instead of, what I felt was, just demonstrating how filthy rich the Recchi family was. I never became very emotionally invested in many of the characters, especially Antonio, which made the film slightly dull. The last 10 minutes grabbed my attention though, and they warranted at least another star.

I think this is a movie that I’m going to need to rewatch to fully understand and appreciate. There were a lot of slight details and I feel the context of some character’s choices could be better understood upon seeing them again. I still feel obligated to say thank you Luca Guadagnino.