Jameson Dublin International Film Festival Closing Gala

Sidestepping a guest-listed red carpet, the ordinary Joes shuffled unglamorously to a packed Screen 1 in the Savoy for the closing gala of this year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The main event was the screening of Luca Guadagnino’s beautiful feature I am Love (Io Sono L’Amore), and the attendance of its director and leading lady added an extra buzz to the evening.

Joanne O’Hagan, CEO of the festival firstly did the obligatory ‘thank yous’ to the relevant supporting bodies, promoters, staff and volunteers before inviting festival director Gráinne Humphreys to say a few words. Humphreys took the opportunity to speak about the development on the festival which led into a poignant tribute to festival-founder Michael Dwyer, who she reckoned would have particularly enjoyed the opening credits of the night’s feature.

With the lights dimmed, Luca Guadagnino and Tilda Swinton were then welcomed to the stage, arriving from the back of the theatre. Swinton continued on from Humphrey’s tribute to Dwyer, speaking eloquently, the 10ft (approx) red head revealed that her only trips to Dublin had been for his festival and that she always kept an eye out at Cannes and Toronto for her “fellow ginger”.

In introducing the film, director Guadagnino began by saying that although it was his first trip to Dublin, he felt as if he already knew the city through its wealth of music and film. Before hurriedly handing back the mic, he added that John Houston’s The Dead had been a particular influence on him. Cue Dublin applause.

The curtains went back and the credits roll. If Dwyer had a penchant for beautiful fifties-style opening credits, then Humphrey’s assumption is right on the money. The lengthy credits of I am Love (Io Sono L’Amore) takes viewers back to a forgotten age of cinema, transporting old-fashioned aesthetics to turn of the millennium Milan.

The narrative opens on the meticulous preparations for an elaborate family dinner, under the instruction of wealthy housewife Emma Recchi (Swinton). As the family assembles, family tensions are palpable. Swinton’s restless character is at the centre of the peace keeping, until the fractures of her complex family life begin to mount. Beginning with a surprise announcement at dinner, the family’s world starts to unravel. To give a flavour of the plot without giving away too much, one of my intelligent friends pointed out its similarities to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House – take from that as much as you want.

Shot beautifully with a dramatic score from John Adams, I am Love is simply gorgeous. Swinton is fantastic as usual, speaking fluent Italian with a faint Russian accent (!). The support performance from Marisa Berensen as matriarch Allegra Recchi is restrained and aristocratic, whereas Antonio Biscaglia’s versatile Edo is convincing in both his optimism and despair. Although the shortcuts used to symbolise a character’s ‘coming out’ as a lesbian are a bit ridiculous (short hair, culottes for example), overall I am Love is a masterpiece. After wrestling its format from the clutches of Turkish soaps, Guadagnino had successfully reclaimed the melodrama.