I Am Love
My introduction to Luca Guadagnino was Call Me by Your Name. I'd been hearing about him with A Bigger Splash and I Am Love, but his type of film doesn't immediately call out to me. I figured I'd catch up with him whenever I went on a deep dive of Tilda Swinton films. I thought Call Me By Your Name was Okay, but I noticed an earthy emotional quality that came out in the films best scenes and gave the film a haunting ghost-like quality that's hard to describe. This is why I was so interested and excited when he announced his next project would be Suspiria. His style couldn't be more different from the colorful splash of Dario Argento, and that could only be to the benefit of the story, right?
I'm still learning, but I think what holds me back on Guadagnino is a certain narrative paunchy-ness. I looked the word up to make sure I was using it right. I'm trying to describe Adam West as Batman. He had many fine Batman qualities, but around the middle there's this soft belly that spills over a little where things should be lean and tight. It's a tough trick because you don't want a lean and mean Batman and you don't want to trim Guadagnino down too much on story because it's not all about the coffee with him but the way he grinds the beans down to a texture you feel you can run your fingers through first.
I may not be able to describe it, but it's clear Swinton gets it. She's at ease with the character that's missing any of her usual eccentricities. She's playing a mother and a woman, and those are her most extreme personality tics, which is so unlike her. She's the one putting her hands into Guadagnino fresh ground beans and the coffee tastes so much richer for it.