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The Vow

A saccharine and paint-by-numbers slice of romance, which is largely boosted by the appeal of its two leads.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (3D)

The under-utilised 3D adds little to this prequel, which only serves as a sore reminder of the brilliance of the original films.

Any Questions For Ben?

The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.

Shame

It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.

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I Am Love (Film)

by Mark Demetrius | June 21, 2010 14:36 | Edited June 21, 2010 14:37

Despite an elegant and impressive visual style, the narrative of this slow-paced film is uninteresting and full of cliché.

What an actress of Tilda Swinton's (Burn After Reading, Michael Clayton, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) stature is doing in this confection is anybody's guess. I Am Love looks great in an elegantly burnished way - the predominantly Italian setting doesn't hurt - but it's mannered, often trite, and frequently just plain silly.

 

Swinton plays Emma, the Russian wife of Milanese industrialist Edoardo Recchi Sr. (Gabriele Ferzetti), who takes over the hugely successful family business with his son, Edoardo Jr. (Flavio Parenti), when grandpa retires. These are changing times for all and sundry; their daughter has, for example, just discovered that she's a lesbian. Junior, for his part, is more interested in starting up a restaurant with his quiet and gentle friend - and ace chef - Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini).

 

That brings us back to Emma. The fire has gone out of her marriage, and she's desperately attracted to young Antonio. What follows could be described as either high-end Mills & Boon or downmarket D.H. Lawrence circa The Virgin And The Gypsy. Smouldering looks lead to exposed flesh and a surfeit of unbelievably corny symbolism which literally includes footage of birds and bees. The viewer is supposed to notice every grinding gear and every succulent culinary morsel, but is instead distracted by an unfortunate sense of time slowing to a snail's pace. 

 

I Am Love has visual style to burn...rather too much, in fact. The credit lettering recalls Fellini or Visconti, and the lushly opulent cinematography harks back further still to Douglas Sirk melodramas of the forties. But underneath all the high-camp/baroque excess is a rather trite and uninteresting story. To make matters even worse, the bombastic soundtrack music is so ridiculously over-the-top in places that it's literally laughable.