REVIEW: A Bigger Splash (2016)

"Does she write you a note when she cums?"

NOTE: Checked this one out over at the Lido in Hawthorn. If you haven't been already, do yourselves a favor and head over there ASAP. Best staff, amazing food, comfiest chairs in the biz. I'm officially moving in.

Fresh out of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, ‘A Bigger Splash’ reunites Tilda Swinton with prolific Italian director Luca Guadagnino (Mellisa P, The Protagonists). With his ninth feature, Guadagnino attempts to keep us at arms length, in a constant state of questioning. Why? Why is this happening? What am I missing? Who are these people, and what have they done to one another? It’s in the middle of the third act, that I realised that none of these questions need answering. Perhaps best described by CJ Johnson as an ‘antipasto platter of four excellent performances’, Splash allows us a brief, and untimely window into a view of narcissism and conceitedness, against the sunbaked backdrop of Pantelleria.

Ralph Fiennes carries his iconic sense of cynicism through, which almost withstands the mesmerising level of chaos and unpredictability that the role requires. Some of the best moments involve him, naked - half naked, dancing to the Stones in a poolside villa. There’s a certain degree of maliciousness and neurotic-ness that never quite breaks through the under layer.

Tilda Swinton, as Bowie-esque natural rockstar ‘Marianne’, gives a performance so understated, that at times, it’s actually hard to see what’s going on. We feel though, that she’s potentially just as unpredictable and impulsive as Harry, despite her handicap. There’s a dangerous sense of passiveness that suggests a well-perfected act, disguising a venomous lack of empathy. Every frame that Swinton consumes, is used to display another selfish thought or movement.

Dakota Johnson is brilliant as Harry’s newly-discovered estranged daughter. Every word and look is counter-intuitive to what we’ve just learned about the character. She’s near impossible to read, as Guadagnino does well to keep her motives obscured by the brashness that she’s subjected to.

Matthais Schoenaerts (Bullhead, Rust and Bone) follows his recent successes with one of his best performances to date. He’s the least outwardly confrontational of the four, managing to still display a level of selfishness, masqueraded by a self-stated degree of innocence.

There isn’t really a dull performance in the film, however, it’s overly-long, and is too heavily indulgent in its edit. Some cuts are jarring, unnecessarily attempting to add some visual flair to a film that might have best followed the cues and beats of the environment. Sometimes, we feel like we’re in the islands off of Italy, rocking along with the waves. Then there’s a whip-pan crash zoom on a bunch of margaritas, and I’m suddenly very confused.

At 2 hours and 6 minutes, ‘A Bigger Splash’ could have easily lost 20-30 minutes. There are also moments of self-indulgence and pretentiousness that could have easily been avoided. However, at its best, ‘A Bigger Splash’ has us playing psychological cluedo, as Guadagnino perfects the power of observation, often in place of dialogue.

3/5

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