Films out this week

I Am Love (15) (Luca Guadagnino, 2009, It) Tilda Swinton, Pippo Delbono, Flavio Parenti. 119 mins The result of a seven-year collaboration between its star and director, I Am Love is an extraordinary fusion of tradition and modernity that's a good deal more original than it might seem at first glance. Calling to mind (although not exclusively modelled on) Luchino Visconti's 1963 Italian classic The Leopard, with a dash of Barbara Stanwyck's immortal Stella Dallas for good measure, this is a powerful and stylish dynastic melodrama that works on many levels. On the surface, Luca Guadagnino's bold, aggressively contemporary direction attacks an age-old story from all angles, zooming, tracking and tilting as John Adams's affecting symphonic score booms. But at the centre of this storm, Swinton gives a superb, sympathetic performance as Emma, the Russian wife of a Milanese textile magnate, whose reckless affair with a working-class chef sends her privileged life into turmoil. Whip It (12A) (Drew Barrymore, 2009, US) Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig. 111 mins A sports comedy about rollerskating directed by ET's Gertie may not sound promising, but Barrymore's film debut is an unexpected delight: funny, smart and much more rewarding than the average chick flick. Juno star Page plays the plucky Bliss Cavendar, a smalltown loner who signs up for a roller derby against the wishes of her uptight mum (Marcia Gay Harden). No Greater Love (NC) (Michael Whyte, 2009, UK) 105 mins Documentary exploring the cloistered world of Notting Hill's strict Carmelite sisterhood. A must-see for nun-fanciers everywhere. I Know You Know (15) (Justin Kerrigan, 2008, UK) Robert Carlyle, Arron Fuller. 82 mins Human Traffic director Kerrigan returns with a very different rites-of-passage story, starring Fuller as a young boy who is swept up by his charismatic father (Carlyle) into an exciting world of secrets and adventure. Inevitably, he learns that things aren't as he'd imagined them. The Infidel (15) (Josh Appignanesi, 2010, UK) Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff. 105 mins Djalili stars as a proud muslim who accidentally discovers he is adopted – and was born Jewish – in this amiable farce penned by comedian David Baddiel. A slew of TV funny men (David Schneider, Matt Lucas) pepper what's essentially a big-screen sitcom, with perhaps more laughs than its creaky premise suggests. Shelter (15) (Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein, 2010, US) Julianne Moore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers. 112 mins When not being brilliant in Oscar-nominated fare, Julianne Moore occasionally likes to be mediocre in a jaw-droppingly bad genre film. Here, she plays a top psychiatrist with a patient (Meyers) whose multiple personalities turn out to be murder victims. Shocks, absurd twists and viewer boredom swiftly ensue. OUT FROM FRIDAY Repo Men Sci-fi in which Jude Law reclaims unpaid-for vital organs. Cemetery Junction 70s- set romcom from the Extras team. Out on Wednesday Beeswax Mumblecore drama. Out on Wednesday Dear John Three-hanky blubfest. Out on Wednesday Paathshaala Bollywood goes High School Musical. The Market Travails of an ambitious Turkish trader. The Heavy Yet another British gangster movie. Give Me Your Hand Arty tale of sibling rivalry. The Manchurian Candidate Cold war reissue. The Ghost Polanski's political pot-boiler. Crying With Laughter Scottish indie thriller. City Of Life And Death Chinese historical drama. Boogie Woogie Ensemble piece, set in the art world. Bananas!* Documentary about banana farming. COMING SOON In two weeks … Steve Carell and Tina Fey share a Date Night … Gurinder Chadha explains why It's A Wonderful Afterlife … In three weeks … Tony Stark returns to face the wrath of a Russian rival in Iron Man 2 … Vikings trip out in Valhalla Rising … In a month … Chris Morris gambles on his jihadi comedy Four Lions … Freddy Krueger rises again in A Nightmare On Elm Street … John Cusack steps into the Hot Tub Time Machine …