I finally got around to seeing Tilda Swinton's 'I am Love' last weekend and I enjoyed it, perhaps more for the wardrobe, sets and music, than for the story line. 'Madame Bovary' it was not. Still, in spite of the fact that the film ran for 2 hours, and was desperately in need of editing, it was definitely worth seeing.
In fact any movie with Tilda Swinton aka 'The Swinton' is worth seeing, don't you agree?
The story is of a bourgeois wife of an Italian industrialist, who emerges from her repressed inner life by falling in love with a young chef, Antonio. Food is the catalyst for her stepping out of her uber elegant yet cold life in her Milan palazzo and into the country life and raw nature, an Eve finding her Garden of Eden with her primal Adam, if you will.
Anyone who has watched this film will see her character's transformation physically represented in the changes in her overall look. With a wardrobe created by Raf Simons of Jill Sander, the story begins with her character Emma (yeah, we get the nod to Madame Bovary), wearing sleek monochromatic outfits in cooler colors of blue, grey, plum, etc.
In the key scene where Emma has lunch at the chef's restaurant in Milan, and falls in love with the Antonio with each bite that she takes of her food, she wear red.
Later, when she follows the chef to his country property, high up in the Ligurian hills, the color palate of her wardrobe changes to warm colors. I could go on and on about Romanticism and the reversion to nature and the correlation of nature and sex that are all big themes in this film, but I won't.
I'd rather say something about the jewelry.
The long strand of multicolored Tahitian pearls, the single statement gold bracelet, the ball pendant (just like this one by Chopard at Beladora), and the all important double strand of white South Sea pearls, added the extra luxe detail to the polished look of her character.
Also, the score was by the brilliant composer, John Adams. The music was so beautiful that it added emotional depth to the lushly filmed scenes.
I definitely recommend this film. It is worth seeing for the wardrobe, the music and the architecture and interior design of the Milan palazzo alone.