I Am Love
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: June 18, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
VarietyJay Weissberg
In every sense, I Am Love is a stunning achievement. Read full review
100
ObserverRex Reed
I Am Love fuses the past with the changing future in a marvelous traditional narrative without a shred of the sloppy trends of contemporary filmmaking. Read full review
100
Village VoiceMelissa Anderson
When Guadagnino focuses solely on the primal, the effect is spellbinding. Only the words get in the way. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
An amazing film. It is deep, rich, human. It is not about rich and poor, but about old and new. It is about the ancient war between tradition and feeling. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Often soaringly beautiful melodrama. Read full review
90
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
The movie that we do have is cogent, lavish, and formidable enough, with a Recchi-like power to frighten and seduce. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The grand architecture of Milan and the icy rhythms of composer John Adams set the tone for this elegant Italian drama about the suffocating power of family, wealth, and tradition. Read full review
90
SlateDana Stevens
If nothing else, it's an eye-boggling two hours at the movies and a must for Swinton completists fascinated by her recent turn toward operatic roles in odd, unmarketable films like this one and last year's Julia. She's becoming the Maria Callas of international cinema. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
I Am Love is a bold and thrilling masterpiece -- the introduction of a major talent to the world's stage. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
I Am Love makes no apologies for its style. None needed: The film, a two-hour swoon, is a cry for romantic freedom, perched on the edge of self-parody, as all good melodramas are. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
It is not to everyone's taste. But if you like the lush film operas of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Douglas Sirk, or Luchino Visconti, this one's for you. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
If you're not in the mood, the whole thing will probably seem pretty silly. But if you are -- oh, if you are -- I Am Love may be the richest, tastiest truffle you're likely to savor all summer. Read full review
88
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
I Am Love is a cinematic orgy, a sensual Italian feast of food, sex, guilt and grief. An intimate, quiet and even slow movie, its subtle shadings veil turbulent emotions. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
What keeps the story fresh isn't so much Guadagnino's swooning sense-reveries, which sometimes flow with dreamlike wonder and sometimes just drag; instead, most of the power comes from Swinton, who always makes the most of characters imbued by passion, but straitjacketed by expectations. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterNatasha Senjanovic
An ambitious film, and Guadagnino deserves praise for the risks he takes here. Read full review
80
EmpireDamon Wise
A stately, rich and moving Italian melodrama in the spirit of Visconti. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
Director Luca Guadagnino is having so much fun setting up the Kubrickian chill (even Barry Lyndon's Marisa Berenson is on hand) that when Emma and the much younger Antonio finally come together in warming Sanremo, their tryst almost sneaks up on you. Read full review
80
MovielineMichelle Orange
Bold, weird, and a little stalkerish in its intensity, Luca Guadagnino's third feature is an open cinematic buffet, as ready to satisfy as it is to displease, depending on your taste and appetite. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
Swinton is one of the finest actresses working in contemporary cinema, but Guadagnino, who developed the project with her in mind, has created a film that literally luxuriates in her talents. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Though it's Swinton who grounds the film, Guadagnino is really telling the story of an entire family and their unquestioned way of life. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazineRichard Mowe
This intense and almost operatic Italian family melodrama recalls the best of Douglas Sirk. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicKerry Lengel
You can read Emma's affair and its eventual effect on Edoardo as an inverted oedipal thing, or perhaps as a metaphor for decadence, the embodiment of a family that subconsciously realizes it's in decline and must fight to warm its blood. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A fearless sort of melodramaticism that might have seemed silly if it weren't for the impeccable EVERYTHING on display here, from the lush, sexy camerawork of director of photography Yorick Le Saux (Swimming Pool) to the throbbing, atavistic score by John Adams. It's not silly or, at least, rarely so, and Swinton's nuanced, aching performance is downright revelatory. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
My admiration for I Am Love is higher than my appreciation, and its appeal will be limited to an exclusive audience. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
As a full-on celebration of beauty in all its forms, this gem of a contemporary melodrama invites viewers to plunge into a world of unerring taste and luxury, where even tragedy comes softly when it inevitably arrives. Read full review
70
Film ThreatFiona RaeAug 26, 2025
With Gaudagnino’s signature framing styles and natural, lush settings, this movie warrants a re-watch to catch the full picture of a beautiful, ultimately tragic story of a family’s undoing through a woman’s search for herself. Read full review
65
NPRMark Jenkins
Despite the contrived climax, I Am Love has emotional power. The contrast between duty and passion is well-drawn, and Swinton's transition from winter matriarch to springtime lover is compelling, even if the circumstances are implausible. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
I Am Love is easy to savor but tough to swallow. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The film is almost deliriously stylish, which helps mask the silliness. But the bellowing music, by John Adams, is infuriatingly intrusive -- which undoes the visual good. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle Smith
As things pick up in the second half, the splendid photography and tempestuous John Adams score cannot quite conceal that the film is uncomfortably close to being an extravagantly elongated, Fendi-clad episode of "Dynasty." Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
I Am Love casts no spell and creates no narrative urgency. It's as compelling as mildly interesting gossip about people you don't know. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Despite a superb cast and a fabulous look, the picture collapses under the weight of its lofty pretensions, especially in the black hole of the last act, where it topples into near-absurdity. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Here the homages/critiques of old craft and form are often laughably mangled, and nothing sexy, profound or illuminating results. For all its prettiness, it's the sort of picture that gives the arthouse a bad name. Read full review
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