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Movies & TV News & Features

I Am Love

I AM IN LOVE (Luca Guadagnino, Italy). 120 minutes. Subtitled. May 27, 7 pm, Isabel Bader. Rating: NNNN


I Am Love lingers long after its final stunning frame.[rssbreak]

Tilda Swinton plays Emma, a Russian-born woman now firmly ensconced in a wealthy Milanese industrial family. After the patriarch divides his kingdom, Lear-style, cracks begin appearing in the solid empire. Emma, formerly a sleek but silent presence, finds her voice via passion for someone outside the fortress of her home. Also an outsider is her lesbian daughter.

Director Luca Guadagnino, who’s like the offspring of Visconti and Sirk, makes bold choices throughout, playing with depth of focus, cranking up the John Adams score and lustily contrasting the closed-off world of the Italian upper classes with the sensuality of the Italian countryside.

Swinton, always terrific at showing conflicted emotions, radiates an intelli gence and openness worthy of the literary characters that inspired the script. This is, after all, a common story, retold beautifully and with originality.

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