I am Love

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini
Directed by: Luca Gadagnino (“Melissa P.”)
Written by: Luca Gadagnino (“Melissa P.”)

Filmmaker Luca Gadagnino has such an elegant way of saying nothing in the film “I am Love,” an Italian melodrama that explores social status, family issues, and a little cuisine, but never goes anywhere meaningful as it flaps about in its art-house flare.

Starring Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton (“Michael Clayton”), “I am Love” follows an upper-class household from Milan who watches as their family dynamic changes after the death of their grandfather (Gabriele Ferzetti), who leaves the family business in the hands of both his son Tancredi (Pippo Delbono) and grandson Edoardo (Flavio Parenti). Swinton plays Emma, the mother caught in the middle, who begins to have an affair with her son’s friend Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini) as the family inches closer and closer to self destruction.

While beautifully shot through the snow-covered city of Milan, and with a fantastic classical score by composer John Adams, “I am Love” never builds momentum as it sort of floats to the finish line with little emotional pull. When the climax does happen, it is all laid on thickly and in a way that hardly matches the tone of the rest of the film. What we’re left with is a visually remarkable story that sits in the lap of luxury and isn’t bashful about tossing out empty metaphors.

Burn After Reading

Starring: George Clooney, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt
Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen (“No Country for Old Men”)
Written by: Joel and Ethan Coen (“Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”)

It would only be natural if you flinched a bit when you found out the recently Oscar’ed Coen Brothers would return to the comedy genre after their success with the suspenseful and fascinating “No Country for Old Men.” Not since 1998’s “The Big Lebowski” has the genre been good to them, although some may argue “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” was a minor triumph.

Still, “Intolerably Cruelty” and “The Ladykillers” were not up to form for directors who had helmed one of the best dark comedies of all time in “Fargo.” It’s good to see them slowly finding that niche again in their new film.

In “Burn After Reading,” the nation’s security is in jeopardy (well, sort of) when employees of a local fitness center, including Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), find a disc they think contains top secret CIA information.

With a bitter, recently separated ex-spook named Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) on their backs, Chad and Linda decide they are going to milk their discovery as much as possible and see how far blackmailing someone can take them.

Linda, who’s tired of trolling on internet dates sites for the perfect man, has been longing for a few plastic surgery procedures her insurance refuses to cover so she can be more attractive, while peppy Chad is simply excited about being a part of the adventure. Academy Award winner George Clooney (“Syriana”) plays Harry Pfarrer, a delusional governmental employee with food allergies who’s been sleeping around with Osborne’s cold wife Katie (Tilda Swinton). Relationships continue to cross paths in this comedy of errors as the Coens write up a breezy little spoof that pushes the plot in bizarre and sometimes unbelievable ways.

The main problem with “Burn” is that the Coens haven’t developed characters as much as they have created caricatures of real people. It’s different when we’re talking about eccentricities like John Tuturro’s Jesus Quintana in “Lebowski” or even Clooney’s grease-loving Everett in “O Brother” because they seem to be in this completely different world devoid of any sanity. In “Burn,” however, many of the characters feel too manufactured in Anytown, USA. Their exaggerated stupidity can be endearing, but most of the time you’re thinking how no one can possibly be this dumb and needy.

Still, the Coens recipe for humor laden with violence is second to none and all the principal players give enjoyably jovial performances. It really is the Coen’s funniest film since giving us The Dude 10 years ago.