"Tilda, the Great"
By Jordan Overstreet
Published: September 30, 2010
While many critics have coined Meryl Streep as ‘chameleon-esque' in her acting abilities, it appears another reptile has entered the cinematic aquarium and may possess the power to uproot ‘the world's greatest living actress' from her throne. This force is art house pioneer, Tilda Swinton.
Since her move to mainstream films in 2000, Swinton has re-invented the feminine image on screen. Her Academy-award winning performance as the ruthless Karen Crowder in 2007's "Michael Clayton" not only exposed the softer side of the stock businesswoman prototype, but also gave audiences a taste of her talent; she promptly delivered the main course in the 2008 French indie thriller, "Julia," in which Swinton portrays an alcoholic party girl on the brink of self-destruction. Her Oscar has proved to be invaluable and has allowed Swinton the rare opportunity to bring art house cinema to the megaplex in Luca Guadagnino's "I Am Love," which comes to DVD on October 12th.
Shedding her natural complexion, boyish figure, Swinton adopts the trappings of an haute bourgeois matriarch caught in a ‘May-December romance' with her son's business partner in the recent Italian drama. While set in Milan at the turn of the 21st century, the presentation of the title credits and the traditional lettering of "I Am Love" invite the audience to return to an older era of women's films starring the likes of Ingrid Bergman or Deborah Kerr, which capitalized the allure of an extra-marital affair as a vehicle for the leading lady to embark on voyage of self-discovery despite ultimately returning to the arms of her husband. However, Guadagnino's protagonist, Emma Reechi (Swinton), evades this fate, placing a modern spin on the woman's melodramatic formula.
When we first meet Emma, her servants surround her in her kitchen, evoking an image of upper class Italian domesticity. While she speaks perfect Italian, hosts the family dinner soirees, and sports the uniform of the bourgeois women (a Chanel shift dress with a coordinating quilted tote in hand), her Russian descent - red hair and harsh bone structure - keep her from truly becoming a member of the Reechi dynasty that she has married into. Emma's comfort zone is the kitchen, for her only outlet for expressing her Russian heritage is through the art of cooking (she is known for her traditional Russian fish soup which later becomes the indicator of her deceit).
Eventually Emma's son, Edo (Flavio Parenti) develops a strong friendship with a chef, Antonio (Edo Gabberiellini), and the two decide to open a restaurant. When Emma encounters Antonio for the first time, there is a flirtation; however, once Emma tastes Antonio's cuisine, an intense attraction exists between the two. This attraction is further bolstered when a chance meeting leads Antonio to invite Emma to his home, where once inside Emma strips off her clothing, further distancing herself from the Reechi clan.
After working for eleven years with Guadagnino to create, and later finance the drama, Swinton finally had her day in the megaplex. Despite her British heritage, Swinton is no stranger to foreign cinema and is very much at home in this Italian drama. The language rolls off her tongue with ease. Her "Emma" conjures the likes of a Virginia Woolf heroine trapped in her daily domestic routine; similarly, Swinton's performance taps into the Wollstonecraftian school of thought regarding the rights of women.
Interestingly, it is the sexual awakening of Emma's daughter, Betta (Alba Rohrwacher) that truly leads Emma into liberation. Betta returns form art school sporting a pixie haircut and engaging in a new sexual preference; moreover, Rohrwacher outshines her supporting consorts as she confides in Emma of her love for her female professor. Betta's transgression from the social norm inspires Emma to embrace her erotic nature and dive into bed with Antonio. Betta's transformation foreshadows Emma's departure from her long strawberry locks, and this change in Swinton's appearance signifies her not only her sexual awakening, but also her return to her true identity--one that is independent of the Reechi family.
The script, written by Guadagnino, is simple--perhaps too simple--and much of the subtext is communicated by the facial expressions of the actors. Dining together is a ceremony for the Reechis, during which only the male members of the family happen to have any dialogue, and Guadagnino overpopulates the film with this tradition. Ironically, the family dining scenes are verbally anorexic. They rely heavily on continuous close-ups and reaction shots of the attendants as means to further the plot. The casual eye roll becomes a deadly weapon and can inspire the most exaggerated responses from those who witness it being used.
Guadagnino continues to pour salt in our wounds by underscoring this ceremony with the boisterous chords of John Addams' classical score. He seems to be trying to add an operatic component to the image on screen. Instead, Guadagnino blasts the audience with so many cinematic elements that without the clever hand of Swinton to guide us through, we become overwrought and lost in the melody of the score.
Nevertheless, "I Am Love" successfully breaks the mold of the traditional woman's picture by illustrating a philandering wife who actually leaves her husband by the time the final credits roll. Our leading ladies of the era are no longer constricted by flawed relationships, but have the opportunity to play in traffic and transgress their promises of fidelity. Like Bette Davis empowered the wartime widows of the 1940's, I predict that Tilda Swinton will, in due time, have the same ability to reach out to her audience and inspire a new generation of female movie-goers.
"I Am Love." Directed by Luca Guadagnino; written for the screen by Luca Guadagnino and Barbara Alberti; released by Sony Pictures Classic. Starring: Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabberiellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono, and Marisa Berenson. Running time: 2 hours. Rated R for sexuality and nudity.
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