Part human, part alien, 100% divine creature: Tilda Swinton is one of a kind. In 2013, she slept in a glass box at the MoMA. Her Snowpiercer role was originally written for a man, but instead of rewriting the part she insisted they just keep calling her "sir". She went to boarding school with Princess Diana. She's the subject of the best celebrity Twitter ever. Aside from this, she's an immensely talented actress, who is just as comfortable playing naturalistic drama as she is slipping into outrageous fantasy worlds.
In honour of Only Lovers Left Alive being added to SBS On Demand, we're celebrating all things Tilda with this collection of three of her most memorable roles, available to watch now.
Only Lovers Left Alive
M
United Kingdom, France, Germany, USA, 2014
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin
What's it about?
Who else but Tilda could play a 3000-year-old hipster vampire so convincingly? Here, she stars as the immortal Eve, the long-time lover of reclusive underground musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston), who reunite in Detroit after his depression reaches new lows. That is until their love is interrupted and tested by her wild and uncontrollable little sister (Mia Wasikowska). Gorgeously shot and marked by director Jim Jarmusch's signature brand of downtown cool and deadpan humour, Only Lovers Left Alive is a deliciously romantic vampire film for adults.
[link title="Tilda Swinton interview: Only Lovers Left Alive" url="node/16003"]
[link title="Only Lovers Left Alive Review" url="node/15786"]
Source: SBS Movies
I Am Love
MA15+
Italy, 2009
Genre: Drama
Language: Italian, Russian
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Flavio Parenti
What's it about?
For this role, Tilda learned to speak Italian with a Russian accent. No big deal. She stars as Milanese matriarch Emma Recchi, who left Russia to follow her wealthy businessman husband Tancredi Recchi (Pippi Delbono). Now her three children are fully grown, although not unhappy, Emma feels unfulfilled. When she meets young chef Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), a secret affair begins that reawakens the forces of passion within. A sumptuous melodrama featuring one of the most beautiful houses ever committed to film, I Am Love is an immensely pleasurable watch.
[link title="Why You Should Watch: I Am Love" url="node/26245"]
[link title="Dinner and a Movie: I Am Love" url="node/38107"]
Source: SBS Movies
Orlando
PG
United Kingdom, 1992
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Sally Potter
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Quentin Crisp, Billy Zane
What's it about?
In one of her most famous roles, Tilda Swinton stars as Virginia Woolf's gender-bending hero, the noble Orlando who is commanded by Queen Elizabeth to stay forever young. Orlando experiences four centuries of sexual politics (right up until the 1990s!), initially through the eyes of a man, until one day Orlando wakes as a woman, struggling to retain her property and status. David Stratton said of the film, "You can't imagine a better film adaptation than this one."
[link title="Orlando review" url="node/58894"]
Source: SBS Movies
