A Bigger Splash

If you thought that Oscar Isaac's dancing in "Ex Machina" was a sight to behold, then wait until you see this. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, who is best known for his well-received work on "I Am Love" in 2009, this has to be a shoe-in for the most screwed up family holiday of the year. Tilda Swinton, who has worked with Guadagnino in the past, stars as voiceless rockstar Marianne Lane, who has retired to a remote island off the coast of Italy in order to recover from an operation on her vocal chords. Joining her is partner and filmmaker Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) who, as we see through flashbacks, is introduced to Lane by record producer Harry Hawkes, a rambunctious and zany character played in true dickhead style by Ralph Fiennes. After intruding on Marianne and Paul's get-away with his daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson), who seems to share a rather suspicious and discomforting relationship with her new-found father, it becomes clear that Harry has some designs on winning his ex-lover and colleague Marianne back. Set in the beautiful Pantellaria, and often around an enticing swimming pool, what seems like an above-board retreat soon turns pretty sour. Having competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, which saw it receive rave reviews from many critics, can "A Bigger Splash" live up to its impactful title?

The first half an hour, or so, of "A Bigger Splash" is absolutely irresistible. Guadagnino directs with a lot of style and personality, and proves himself quite capable of capturing a beautiful landscape on screen. Having seen what Paolo Sorrentino did with the alpine hotel in "Youth", it seems as if it runs in the blood of Italian directors. A very interesting atmosphere and tone is also set; the film is playful and somewhat raunchy, but also quite ambiguous and eccentric. Playing into this are the excellent performances which, throughout the entire duration of the feature, hold up the narrative. Tilda Swinton, who actually suggested that her character shouldn't be able to speak herself, does incredibly well with a very physical performance of gestures, facial reactions and whispers, and despite the age gap, her romance with Schoenaerts' Paul feels quite believable. The stand-out performer though, which is saying something in a film starring Tilda Swinton, is Ralph Fiennes, who shows his superb range with a crazy portrayal of an insufferable, irritating nuisance.

Despite the character he is playing, Fiennes is obscenely engaging, and a scene in which he busts multiple moves is both hilarious and striking in a way that very few films are. I might tentatively suggest, even at this early stage in the year, that his performance in "A Bigger Splash" could be an early contender for an Oscar nomination. Dakota Johnson rounds out the leading quartet with a sultry turn as Penelope, a mysterious, curious figure that does add a bit of youthful spice to proceedings. You have to commend the central cast for their excellent chemistry with one another; while there is an excessiveness and heightened sense of reality involved in "A Bigger Splash", its feet are kept on the ground by the intriguing interactions that take place between the colliding personalities. Guadagnino is successful in his attempt to create a palpable awkwardness between ex-lovers, father and daughter, husband and wife and for a while this allows the movie to feel rather dynamic. The movie features an excellent soundtrack as well, which really helps you sink into the wonderful surroundings depicted in the film, and you do get the sense that you're almost along for the ride on this dysfunctional holiday with the characters in question. "A Bigger Splash" is an accomplished film in a number of ways, and really is gorgeous to look at.

It's rather frustrating then that "A Bigger Splash", despite the film's achievements, feels like a missed opportunity. Although each of the main quartet are interesting in their own particular way, there is a clear absence of emotional connection to any of the central characters; their arcs are ultimately unsatisfying and their experiences seem to make very little impact upon the audience. Seeing these well-known names act in rather unfamiliar and off-the-cuff ways is bright and unexpected initially, but well into the second act of the film, the novelty of the feature starts to wear off. At a runtime of over two hours, too much of "A Bigger Splash" feels like a spinning of wheels, and although it would be unfair to label the movie as totally pretentious, there is a heavy-handidness of theme which comes across as rather jarring. The narrative, in several ways, just doesn't sustain itself; after a while it's quite easy to lose interest in what happens to each character, and they all seem so distanced from reality that any kind of relatability is ultimately sacrificed.

It's also fair to say that the setting, as wonderful as the holiday home is, becomes quite stale after a prolonged amount of time, and the claustrophobic, limited scope of the feature doesn't resonate emotionally in any particular way. The performances are great, but they don't really end up contributing to anything that is remotely substantial. This is summed up in the final act which, irrespective of a somewhat surprising plot-twist, doesn't resolve the issues addressed in the movie very well at all. The final scene is totally bizarre in its own right, but the entire conclusion to "A Bigger Splash" stunk of whimsical nonsense, and offered no pleasing or arresting closure to the overall narrative which had taken place. I admit that I might be missing something beneath the surface of this movie's glossy sheen, but the final stages of the film are handled so erratically and messily that it somewhat spoils the promise that "A Bigger Splash" clearly has.

Luca Guadagnino has a certain style that exudes pure unbridled sexuality, lavish Italian landscapes and tension between the characters. There's no doubt he's an accomplished filmmaker with an old-school Italian filmmaking style that people just love.

This film introduces its four characters in various awkward and ambiguous ways. Harry is an extroverted and irritating highly talkative music producer trying to woo back Tilda Swinton's character Marianne, a famous rock star, who is in a relationship with Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts). Dakota Johnson plays Harry's (supposed) young blonde daughter, who is not always truthful about certain things.

At several points throughout the film, the foursome strip completely nude to swim, sunbathe or sleep (Ralph Fiennes, exuding sexy dad energy, is the most fond of exposing himself when going in the water) And yet, in terms of inner life, soul and heart-speak, there is very little to show. There are a few flashbacks to show titbits of the relationship between characters, but not much else. Johnson's character is especially underwritten, and we don't get into that much of who she really is until the very end of the movie.

As a result of the these people not being fleshed out, I wasn't able to connect with their struggles or wants.

Stripping of the soul is far more intimate and alluring than the stripping of clothes.

While she rests her voice after throat surgery, a David Bowie-esque rock legend, Marianne (Tilda Swinton), and her documentary-filmmaker boyfriend of 6 years, Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts), relax in the remote Italian paradise of Pantelleria. Her record producer, mutual friend of both and former flame of Marianne, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), brings his estranged daughter, Penelope (Dakota Johnson), to spend time with the couple and, mostly, interrupt the vacation. Tensions flare as Harry's ulterior motives to steal Marianne back after having 'given her' to Paul, while Penelope's relationships with her father and Paul come into question. Jacques Deray adapted this story once before in his 1969 film La Piscine, but Luca Guadagnino's 2015 iteration relies on its sharp sense for revelations of secrets and lies to draw us into its narrative and wrap us up in the impression of its characters. It works for the most part, but largely due to the efforts of the talented, committed cast.

It's films like A Bigger Splash that make us appreciate the largely underserved Ralph Fiennes. He showed comic potential as another Harry in In Bruges, and just last year his dry wit anchored the ensemble cast of The Grand Budapest Hotel, but he's a riot in A Bigger Splash. Having not seen any of Guadagnino's previous films, I wasn't expecting this to be so playfully comedic at first as it initially focuses on the awkwardness of the situation. Fortunately, as most of this is sourced from Fiennes's boorish behavior, he absolutely radiates off the screen, singing, dancing, and frequently stripping bare naked to swim. While this wouldn't have gotten Oscar attention even if it were still scheduled to release in 2015 with a more forgiving release strategy, a consecutive Best Actor in a Comedy Golden Globe nomination wouldn't have been out of the question, as Fiennes is hitting a new stride this decade which, somewhere down the line, should equate to the awards momentum he rode back in the 90s.

Tilda Swinton, an equally reliable talent, nearly measures up to Fiennes, but her character calls for a dialed-down approach that she's cut her teeth in already. As her character recovers from throat surgery, she's a near silent participant in most scenes, except when it's absolutely necessary to whisper or in its few and admittedly unnecessary flashbacks, which just paint what we already suspected rather than tell us anything new. Even silently, the nuances on her face are expertly controlled and she is the key to the balance of the heightened tone and raw emotion of the film. Matthias Schoenaerts and Dakota Johnson, this decade's new kids in town, are certainly out of their depth compared to Swinton and Fiennes. While Schoenaerts appears convincingly irritated, he doesn't have the conviction to hit the high notes his character requires later. Johnson is firmly on the sidelines for the most part, but given a better film than Fifty Shades of Grey, she's guilty of chewing on every juicy line she gets to the point of indulgence. Both are mostly good, but notably outshined by their experienced counterparts.

However solid its cast may be, the film does struggle with a choppy edit. It's littered with distracting continuity errors, unnecessary jump cuts and unmotivated closeups and push-ins– the latter being mostly on delectable food and, of course, pools of water, though this may just be flourishes of Guadagnino's typical style. It captures the therapeutic atmosphere of its environment, and with the frequent nudity by its main foursome, the sensuality far outweighs the darkness that unfurrows in its latter passages. It takes a big leap of faith in its third act but it mostly suffers from a lack of conclusiveness than its thrills and tonal shift. While the entangled web of these characters' pasts is intriguing and engaging, it doesn't appear to have a consistent point to make outside of the nature of temptation and recovery, two well travelled paths. A Bigger Splash is ultimately a mixed bag of hits and misses, but it'll find a passionate niche that will embrace it for its more tantalizing sequences.

7/10

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I hadn't seen A Bigger Splash but after being dazzled by Call Me By Your Name, I rushed to find and see this Luca Guadagnino 2015 film and it confirmed without a doubt that Luca Guadagnino is a remarkable filmmaker with a retro eye and a futuristic sensibility. His elegance makes cinematic the most unpalatable of tales and this one, a four sided triangle, it's unpalatable and scrumptious all at the same time. Tilda Swinton is superb as the voiceless singer, Dakota Johnson gave me, for the first time, a glimpse into what she could be, Matthias Schoenaerts hits all the right notes even the most unexpected ones but Ralph Fiennes gives a performance that it hast to be seen to be believed mostly because this is the same actor in Schindler's List, Quiz Show, In Bruges and last year he provided me woth one of the funniest scenes of the year in Hail Caesar. So, as you must gather, I had a great time and I'll wait for the next Guadagnino with childish anticipation

The director's prior "I Am Love" ultimately transcended its more pretentious, arbitrary aspects with a certain feeling of epic emotionality. But this time around there isn't enough substance or originality in other departments to detract attention from how...well, pretentious and arbitrary many of his directorial choices are. To an extent there's interest in simply watching the well-cast stars go through their paces: Fiennes plays one of his most extroverted characters; Swinton has magnetism as usual in a contrasting figure (contrasting because her rock-star has to be silent while recovering from surgery--but a laughable flashback where she sings in a recording studio blows any belief that we're watching a credible musical talent); Schoenaerts is attractive and earnest; Johnson is good playing a petulant brat who uses her sexual allure in obvious (yet successful) ways. If you've ever wanted to see any of these actors full-frontal, here's your big chance, since there's a lot of nudity here that doesn't seem to exist for much reason beyond producing a "Look, s/he's taken it all off, too!" reaction.

But after a while you realize that as colorfully played as these figures are, none of them are drawn with enough depth to be genuinely interesting, and in fact they're largely annoying--to each other, and to us. It's predictable that the 2nd, vaguely incestuous "couple" who make an invasive surprise visit are going to disrupt the idyll and emotional security of the main couple who have hoped to escape just such company. It's predictable that there will be infidelity, and that sooner or later something violent is going to happen. Yet it's very hard to care about any of this.

That the director thinks his actors/characters are endlessly fascinating is obvious--otherwise why on Earth would he stage scenes like the one in which two of them invade a karaoke bar, and though neither of them can sing very well, we're supposed to believe they quickly have half the island populace raptly watching their performance? Judging from "I Am Love" and this, I've got to assume the director himself is a product of jet-setting wealth who automatically assumes the wealthy and privileged are special, fascinating creatures. Yet "Bigger Splash" inadvertently provides the truthful end to that sentence: "...only to each other."

In terms of image and editing, the film is flashy in often pointless, mannered ways that to my mind are neither beautiful or interesting...just show-offy and empty, the flourishes of a director who thinks flamboyant stylistic gestures = a true "artist," without worrying what they actually MEAN, if anything. (He's made a documentary about Bertolucci, and while the latter has certainly made some uneven, mannered work, he comes by instinctively everything that Guadagnino does in an imitative, pretentious way.) Of course, some will be taken in by it, since some people will always fall for Art that labels itself as such.

For all the talent it deploys, though, "Bigger Splash" is ultimately just a particularly pretentious variation on "erotic thriller" material, without much real tension, and certainly without any real substance. It's not terrible, but it's ultimately pretty trivial.

By the way, if you want a laugh, read Luca Guadagnino's Wikipedia bio. It's one of those Wiki entries that sounds like it was written by the subject (and/or his publicist), as it solemnly gushes over his "curiosity and passion for diverse artistic disciplines" including the company he founded that "conceives and implements luxury communications for luxury brands." I didn't know about THAT before, but it sure isn't surprising that he'd have a background in high-end advertising, the center of the universe for pretentious stylistic gestures about nothing.