A Bigger Splash

A Bigger Splash

This does not mean, however, that “A Bigger Splash” is easy to predict, despite the fact that it is both lush and lurid at the same time.

Director Luca Guadagnino’s follow-up to his seminal 2009 flick, “I Am Love”, affirms him as a master craftsman. He extracts four beautiful and well-judged performances from his fine cast which include a showy bravura performance by Ralph Fiennes. His portrayal feels like jazz itself; physical and primal all at once, jumpy and funny in equal parts; where even a grating demanding character can seem fun.

Equally captivating but opposite in terms of content is Tilda Swinton’s wordless role as she starred in the “ I am love”. There are some hoarse whispers every so often (and one silent orgasm while standing up), which simply heighten her ever-present air of mystery. Those clear blue eyes, that statuesque presence, and her aura of confidence regardless of what she wears (or even when she doesn’t wear anything at all because most scenes have naked actors).

At the opposite end of this quartet Matthias Schoenaerts plays Swinton’s hunky young boyfriend while Dakota Johnson portrays Fiennes bratty daughter who he only learned existed recently. Their backstories take forever to unspool as they become friends through seemingly perfect summer holidays spent in an Italian villa on Pantelleria island always under threat from a sirocco.

They are basking or entwined in one another under Photograpgher Yorick Le Saux’s camera (he also shot Guadagnino’s unforgettable I am love) with sun rays pouring on them either by the pool or not away from it something we will learn more about later (“A Bigger Splash” is a loose remake of the 1969 Jacques Deray film “La piscine.”) But the images of Schoenaerts’ pecs, Johnson’s abs, Fiennes’ grin or Swinton’s feet are apparently no less significant than the cool blue Mediterranean Sea and the grand volcanic boulders that surround it.

Marianne Lane (Swinton) is a rock singer who looks like David Bowie in her metallic sequins and face paint as she steps onto the stage amidst thunderous applause from her adoring fans. What becomes obvious later is that she has to force herself not to talk or sing whatsoever; in fact, both Marianne and Paul (Schoenaerts), a photographer/documentary filmmaker, came to this remote paradise so that Marianne could get some rest and recover her voice.

In “I Am Love,” Guadagnino creates for himself a bohemian, domestic atmosphere around Marianne and Paul with their nudist sunbathing rituals on the beach, lovemaking during siesta time and mud baths on nearby hot springs.

Their trance is shattered by the noisy arrival of Fiennes’s Harry, Marianne’s old friend and producer. It turns out that it is not only in Marianne and Harry’s case he not only introduced the two but also approved their relationship necessitating them to initiate one of their own which he now regrets. Harry arrives with a blonde and tall Penelope (Johnson) who keeps on insulting them or making dirty jokes. She claims she is 22 years old but her impudence shows otherwise. Johnson has more fun and sexier moments in A Bigger Splash than she had in Fifty Shades of Grey.

The wind gets stronger; the days grow hotter and dustier as the villa seems to be shrinking and suffocating. However, this does not mean much because Harry breaks through all this suffering by inviting friends over randomly, telling them about his past in rock music, playing Rolling Stones records for everyone to bear witness and showing off some Mick Jagger moves.

The best part of this film might actually be the whole sequence: we get a look at Fiennes’ character shirtless with just swimming trunks dancing around to “Emotional Rescue” as light oozes from every pore of his skin. I think I have never seen him having more fun myself and I am talking about his vampire like act!

Guadagnino uses close-ups so extreme that they awaken our senses; hands are shown gutting fish or peeling fruit, eyes sizing up other characters, mouths moving non-stop with conversations or laughter between women like me while doing dishes. Swinton could be any modern rock star she is immortal as well as tall although Guadagnino zooms back and forth suggesting almost a nod towards European psychodramas such as Luchino Visconti’s original film adaptation. He created a cocktail which somehow managed to be both sexy and strange at once.

Then there is some slackness here toward the end, just as it should be at its most gripping. It almost seems like this ghastly discovery is played for laughs. In fact, because the film is so precise for long in both its beauty and its weirdness, a turn towards uncomfortable farce feels like a letdown. However, Guadagnino also tries to drop in hints about the plight of Tunisian refugees arriving on the island seeking sanctuary but they never really resonate or cohere with the story as a whole.

While A Bigger Splash may seem like a cautionary tale about being white privileged and beautiful; most people will see it differently.

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