---
title: "I Am Love"
year: 2010
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/i-am-love"
fi1m_id: "i-am-love"
imdb_id: "tt1226236"
tmdb_id: 41110
wikidata_id: "Q1458252"
fi1m_score: 81
critics_score: 75
critics_reviews: 17
published: "2026-10-01T21:19:34.075370+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-01T21:19:34.383844+00:00"
region: "AZ"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# I Am Love (2010)

Directed by Luca Guadagnino · 2h 00m · Drama, Romance

## Identity

I Am Love

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/i-am-love
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** i-am-love
- **IMDb ID:** tt1226236
- **TMDB ID:** 41110
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1458252
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226236/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/41110, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1458252

**Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 75 from 17 reviews

*In a sentence:* Even the music seems determined to get Tilda Swinton out of that family

> Luca Guadagnino’s *I Am Love* is a moving, sometimes overbearing melodrama, carried by Tilda Swinton’s sensitive performance. We recommend it, despite stretches of slow pacing and music that occasionally overwhelms the actors.

## Synopsis

In Milan, Emma Recchi (Tilda Swinton) is part of a wealthy Italian family. The Recchis include Edoardo Recchi Junior (Flavio Parenti), Elisabetta Recchi (Alba Rohrwacher) and Tancredi Recchi (Pippo Delbono). Emma’s romance brings her own wishes into conflict with an established family life, as she begins to consider what she wants beyond her place in the household. Moving between Milan and the surrounding landscapes, the story follows her growing awareness of those desires and the difficulty of giving them room within the life she already has.

## Review

Luca Guadagnino takes the upheaval within a wealthy Italian family seriously, and asks us to do the same. We recommend *I Am Love*: it is absorbing, often moving, and willing to risk excess when a tidier film would keep its feelings small. Its weakness is a tendency to underline what Tilda Swinton has already made clear as Emma Recchi. The film needs her restraint, especially when its music and images try to make every feeling unmistakable.

Tilda Swinton gives Emma enough uncertainty to keep the romance from becoming a simple declaration of independence. As Emma becomes more conscious of what she wants, apprehension remains visible alongside the pleasure in her face. We were moved by that uncertainty: she makes happiness seem unfamiliar enough to require some care. The performance suggests someone still learning to trust what she feels, and that hesitation keeps her recognisable when the direction grows more forceful.

Yorick Le Saux lets us spend time looking at Milan, and allows the landscapes beyond the city to hold our attention too. Francesca Di Mottola’s production design gives the family’s prosperity a formality that makes Emma’s uncertainty seem conspicuous. The care given to these surroundings helps explain why anyone in this family might resist change. We understand why the film looks so closely, although the pleasure of looking occasionally delays the next meaningful exchange.

John Adams’s music gives the romance an urgency that the leisurely storytelling does not always supply on its own. Its force often feels right, but there are passages where its insistence draws attention away from Emma. Walter Fasano’s editing shares the film’s patience, sometimes usefully and sometimes beyond what a scene can bear. At 120 minutes, this is hardly an unreasonable demand on an evening; it is the uneven pace within those minutes that we notice.

The screenplay, credited to Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, Walter Fasano and Luca Guadagnino, is most persuasive when it keeps Emma’s wishes close to her doubts. We believe in the difficulty of wanting something that threatens an established life. Some of the dramatic pressure is applied too bluntly, however, and the characters can briefly seem to be serving the plot. We would have liked the writers to trust the quieter exchanges more often, since Tilda Swinton has already given them enough to work with.

As a melodrama, the film understands that a change in someone’s private life can feel large enough to disturb everything around them. It takes that feeling seriously without asking us to admire Emma simply for having it. Anyone who dislikes a lingering image or an emphatic musical passage will find plenty to object to, and some of those objections are fair. Yet the romance remains tender enough to justify staying with a film that occasionally makes rather a lot of itself. Choose it when there is time to let a romance be a little unreasonable.

*Fi1m score 81, published 1 October 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is I Am Love worth watching?**

*I Am Love* is worth watching for its moving romance and Tilda Swinton’s sensitive performance; we score it 81 out of 100. We recommend it to anyone who enjoys patient, emotionally expansive melodrama, with a caveat: the pace sometimes drags, and the music occasionally overwhelms feelings Swinton has already made clear.

**How long is I Am Love, and what is it rated?**

*I Am Love* runs 2h 00m. It is a drama and romance film.

**Where can I watch I Am Love in Azerbaijan?**

*I Am Love* is not on any streaming or rental service in Azerbaijan at the moment. It is available in 12 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is I Am Love, and is it suitable for children?**

*I Am Love* carries a UK 15 certificate and is not suitable for children under 15. Its focus is an adult romance and the strain it places on an established family life, which may interest older teenagers. We cannot give a specific assurance about violence or frightening scenes from the content information available.

**How does I Am Love compare to All That Heaven Allows?**

*I Am Love* is our recommendation for intimate uncertainty within a wealthy family, while [*All That Heaven Allows*](https://film.one/film/all-that-heaven-allows) is the stronger choice for a romance confronting cruel social judgement. Swinton makes Emma’s pleasure and apprehension moving, despite some overbearing music and uneven pacing. Sirk’s film is tender but angrier about respectable people, with Jane Wyman carrying much of its emotional weight.

**What should I watch after I Am Love?**

After *I Am Love*, try [*All That Heaven Allows*](https://film.one/film/all-that-heaven-allows) (1955, Fi1m 86): A widow’s romance exposes the cruelty beneath respectable suburban manners. Then [*The Age of Innocence*](https://film.one/film/the-age-of-innocence) (1993, Fi1m 86): Drawing rooms, fine clothes and a society determined to police desire; and [*In the Mood for Love*](https://film.one/film/in-the-mood-for-love) (2000, Fi1m 91): Suppressed longing gives every shared corridor and unfinished conversation its weight.

### Reviews we read (17)

- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (5/5): Calhoun presents the film as a work of masterly daring and skill. He singles out its boldness, while the story unfolds within a powerful, wealthy Italian family. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/i-am-love-2010)
- **Variety**, Jay Weissberg (90/100, inferred): Weissberg calls the film a stunning achievement and predicts worldwide arthouse buzz. He praises its meticulous visual craft and performances, especially Tilda Swinton’s commanding portrayal of Emma. [Read](https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/i-am-love-1200476375/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (3.5/4): Ebert gives the film a strongly favorable assessment. He singles out Tilda Swinton's performance and the film's visual elegance. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-am-love-2010)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (80/100, inferred): Kohn finds the film’s bold style and emotional storytelling mostly compelling, despite a misstep in its dramatic confrontation. He especially praises the final sequence, where the visuals and music give the story’s ending powerful emotional weight. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-emotional-style-luca-guadagninos-i-am-love-245294/)
- **Little White Lies**, Adam Woodward (3/4/4): The critic sees the film as an elevating, stylish reclamation of melodrama, though its impression may not last. They praise its lingering visual gaze over Milan and the surrounding landscapes. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/i-am-love)
- **Empire**, Damon Wise (78/100, inferred): The review finds the film stately, original and moving, though it drags at times. It praises the effective score and the bold use of Italian genre-cinema flourishes. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/love-4-review/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (B): Bradshaw finds the film arresting and fascinating, though somewhat bloodless and overclamorous. He praises Swinton’s casting and the film’s elegant, technically bracing style. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/apr/08/i-am-love-review)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (75/100, inferred): Lane finds the film lavish, formidable, and ultimately more celebratory than tragic, despite reservations about one love scene. He particularly praises Tilda Swinton’s performance and Guadagnino’s sensual, carefully composed filmmaking. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/06/28/second-helpings)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Betsy Sharkey (65/100, inferred): Sharkey finds the melodrama sumptuous but sometimes uncontrolled and self-indulgent, ultimately wishing for more restraint. She especially praises Tilda Swinton’s richly detailed performance and the emotional range she brings to Emma. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-18-la-et-i-am-love-20100618-story.html)
- **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (65/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a review, but the review text is behind a paywall. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint are not visible. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/venice/i-am-love-io-sono-lamore/5005354.article)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Natasha Senjanovic (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the melodrama ambitious and absorbing, though its emotional payoff feels rushed and anticlimactic. John Adams’s contrasting score is singled out as especially effective. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/i-love-film-review-93471/)
- **The New York Times**, A. O. Scott (65/100, inferred): The review's verdict cannot be determined from the inaccessible page. No praise or complaint is available in the provided text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/movies/19scott.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, Andrew Schenker (2.5/4): Schenker finds the film’s central story rich enough to overcome its distracting visual and aural flourishes. He praises the sensitive handling of Emma’s romance, while faulting the more overwrought impressionistic touches. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/i-am-love/)
- **Total Film**, Neil Smith (3/5): The review finds the melodrama visually lavish but silly, with overblown plotting and intrusive music undermining it. It praises the flawless art direction, while criticizing the clumsy bee imagery and metaphor. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/i-am-love-review/)
- **Eye for Film**, Chris (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a richly rewarding, unconventional social melodrama about love as a force for self-discovery. They especially praise Tilda Swinton’s expressive performance and the film’s sumptuous visual style. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/i-am-love-film-review-by-chris)
- **Paste**, Ani Vrabel (85/100, inferred): Vrabel calls the film beautiful and praises its leisurely, carefully focused storytelling. She singles out Tilda Swinton’s expressive performance as especially compelling. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/i-am-love-review)
- **The Playlist** (64/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no readable detail about what the review praises or criticizes. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-i-am-love-is-sensuous-delig-20100617/)

## Details

- **Director:** Luca Guadagnino
- **Director:** Luca Guadagnino
- **Screenplay:** Walter Fasano, Ivan Cotroneo, Barbara Alberti, Luca Guadagnino
- **Story:** Luca Guadagnino
- **Cinematography:** Yorick Le Saux
- **Editor:** Walter Fasano
- **Music:** John Adams
- **Production design:** Francesca Di Mottola
- **Costume design:** Antonella Cannarozzi
- **Producer:** Alessandro Usai, Luca Guadagnino, Marco Morabito
- **Cast:** Tilda Swinton as Emma Recchi; Flavio Parenti as Edoardo Recchi Junior; Edoardo Gabbriellini as Antonio Biscaglia; Alba Rohrwacher as Elisabetta Recchi; Pippo Delbono as Tancredi Recchi; Maria Paiato as Ida Marangon; Diane Fleri as Eva Ugolini; Waris Ahluwalia as Shai Kubelkian
- **Runtime:** 2h 00m
- **First release (Italy):** 5 September 2009
- **Genres:** Drama, Romance
- **Budget:** $4 million
- **Box office:** $12 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ew8N8piFU

## Where to watch in Azerbaijan

Not streaming, renting or buying in Azerbaijan at the last check.

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, FR, GB, IE, KR, NL, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2011: Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Dorian Award for Film of the Year 2010: Dorian Award for Film of the Year (won)

## If you liked this

- *All That Heaven Allows* (1955), Fi1m 86: A widow’s romance exposes the cruelty beneath respectable suburban manners. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/all-that-heaven-allows.md)
- *The Age of Innocence* (1993), Fi1m 86: Drawing rooms, fine clothes and a society determined to police desire. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-age-of-innocence.md)
- *In the Mood for Love* (2000), Fi1m 91: Suppressed longing gives every shared corridor and unfinished conversation its weight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/in-the-mood-for-love.md)
- *The Piano* (1993), Fi1m 88: A woman’s desire becomes difficult to contain within an arranged marriage. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-piano.md)
- *The Lunchbox* (2013), Fi1m 75: Food creates intimacy between two people whose daily routines have narrowed. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lunchbox.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/i-am-love