I have been waiting with a fervor of impatience to see "I am Love", the new film directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Tilda Swinton, and it's finally arrived at a cinema near me. You can bet that as soon as I drop my son off at camp tomorrow morning, I'm going to check the showtimes and rearrange my day to fit in a screening.
If you haven't heard about "I am Love" yet, here's why you'll want to add it to your list:
1. It stars Tilda Swinton. Her unconventional beauty hypnotizes me. Plus, I love that in real life she is an unapologetic iconoclast who lives life on her own terms.
She looks especially fabulous in this movie, don't you think? (The costumes were designed by Fendi and Jil Sander.)
2. An intriguing glimpse into the world of power and privilege among the Milanese aristocracy. Think "Vanity Fair: The Italian Edition."
3. Enough opulent, painterly interiors to satisfy even the most design-minded aesthete. (Hamish Bowles, do you need some smelling salts?)
4. An abundance of passion and romance, both in the plot (no secrets revealed)...
...and the food scenes, which were supervised by Carlo Cracco, the renowned chef of Ristorante Cracco in Milan. Apparently, some were inspired by the animated film "Ratatouille" (how funny/fabulous is that?)
No less than The New York Times called this seductive dinner scene "prawnography."
5. And of course, everywhere you look, the operatic beauty of Italy.
If you need more convincing, the movie trailer will take you over the edge. See it HERE.
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Postscript: I saw it yesterday. What did I think?
Complex, beautiful and haunting....Tilda is possessed with an alien beauty....John Adams' soundtrack is revelatory....The scenes of interior life -- especially the ones with the household staff -- play like a Milanese "Gosford Park".... It's not a perfect film, but one so ambitious and filled with so many lovely lingering moments that the occasional off-notes don't much signify.