I am love
Truth to be told, I spent a good amount of time thinking about this movie after seeing it. It’s the kind of strange ‘encaged woman’ à la “The House of Mirth” which draws me towards it. Maybe this is also why Ibsen’s Doll’s House is one of my favorite plays. In terms of characterization, I think that Tilda Swinton’s character is very well portrayed and her role is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film.
Apart from that, we are basically served style over substance. I was mesmerized by the opening shots of the film which I thought were really beautiful, and I was looking forward to more. After seeing a lot of Hollywood films, I was craving for something different, something more… continental I suppose? “I am love” is exactly that, but it’s the type that just makes me yawn. Slow, clichéd, overly arthouse – this movie has almost everything that people hate about artsy movies. In some cases this can be wonderful, but “I am love” just lacks… intelligence? There is the woman who doesn’t love her husband anymore, the son who is kind of into her new lover, the daughter who has a girlfriend and finally the lover who is never really explained. He just looks emotionless the entire time. Perhaps I don’t get the movie, but I certainly know that it failed to connect with me on an emotional level, even if I spent a day brooding about my impressions on it. This brooding was more of a moral nature, I suppose. Amongst all stories like that, I like the tragedy of “The Bridges of Madison County”, even if the description of hours of love-making were a little off-putting. As if a mother could just easily break up with her husband in the wake of her son’s death, no matter how that death came to be. If anything, that death should have made her shut up for good. But then, of course, I strongly support Ibsen’s Nora leaving her kids. Ahhh, like I said, I just don’t get the movie.
“I am love” is a movie that could be so much, but in the end it was so little to me. I thought it was a total waste of potential for Tilda Swinton, who singlehandedly supported the entire movie.
PS. Following a discussion on nostalgic bands, I spent a good deal of the evening listening to them. I still like a lot of them, but I suppose I now have a strong preference for specific songs, namely those that I associate positive memories with. I’m not even sure whether I like Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I certainly love “By the Way” (the song).