The cinematic experience that is I AM LOVE is by far the best film of the year. Luca Guadagnino's visual pleasure cake and the fury of Ms. Tilda Swinton's powerhouse performance left me floored. The film is the type of feature that made it difficult to drive my car home. After that much beauty it is really challenging to get on the 405 southbound. After seeing the picture for the second time today. I can hardly breathe.
Swinton plays Emma Recchi who is one unique character. The Recchi's are an Italian family which has flourished as a fashion empire. For many Americans it is difficult to understand how rich Emma is. She is cut from the gilded age and even though the film takes place in 1999 her family exists in a world of aristocracy that is similar to the late nineteenth century. There are a full team of servants and cooks. There are servants who dress Emma and open sliding doors for the dining room. Antiquities and priceless art fill the Recchi home. At the beginning of the film Swinton is helping the servants polish the brass and she gets black grime all over her thumb. This grime foreshadows the course the Recchi family is headed for. In the beginning it is snowing in Milan and Swinton is helping coordinate a Christmas banquet and birthday party for her father in-law. Swinton looks robotic and cold. In big bright neon letters the word trophy wife screams from her eyes. She looks like a ghost and a shell of someone who was once great. The dinner and the looks that are exchanged by the family all symbolize status and protocol.
Later in the film Emma is seduced by a family cook named Antonio. The propane blowtorch cooking instrument is held by Emma and Antonio together and it is the first time they touch.
I refuse to spoil anymore of the experience for potential viewers. Let's just say Swinton becomes another character completely and get's in touch with her Russian roots. Her Russian name is Kitesh. Russian symbols are the key to understanding the chameleon performance of Swinton. One reviewer of the film said it was like going to a whole film festival all in one film. I couldn't agree more! MILAN SAN REMO LONDON NICE all seem like different worlds..................................................................................................................
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