Review of A Bigger Splash (2015) by Spangle — 20 Jan 2017

Vapid, soulless, and inconsequential, Luca Guadagnino is simply a dull film that has very literally purpose. It is a film that allegedly has some themes regarding immigration into Europe, but is mostly a drama about four rich people who all are attracted to one another. European to its very core, this slow paced drama film is erotic, dialogue heavy, and impeccably acted. While hardly engaging and largely just throwaway entertainment masquerading as something more (my biggest problem with this film), A Bigger Splash does feature tremendous performances from Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton that exceed expectations. If nothing else, it cements that the world has been deprived of the David Bowie biopic starring Tilda Swinton for far too long.

A Bigger Splash is the kind of film that is not exactly pretentious, but it certainly feels that it is deep and important. It exudes a certain air of superiority towards its audience as Guadagnino shows off the lush country side of Italy and Ralph Fiennes' member. Nothing that happens - when stuff happens - is overly complicated. It is just jealousy, lust, and murder, aka the big three of film. Nothing makes this unique, just the two hours runtime it takes for A Bigger Splash to actually say nothing on any of the topics. At many points in the film, it is as if the cast decided to get together and vacation, while Guadagnino tagged along. I have no problem with films with limited plots, but it also has no characters. They are written paper thin and are hardly worth diving into further. These four characters - mostly Schoenaerts' and Johnson's - are not really even given the time of day to really communicate who they are in this film. Fiennes' Harry is loud, boisterous, and obnoxious. Swinton's Marianne is a rock star who has a problem with her voice, so she cannot speak. The other two are kind of there, but mostly silent. Harry does most of the talking and Fiennes knocks the role out of the park. He is phenomenal, but it is a shame that his character is so useless and uninteresting without him.

A Bigger Splash just simply never excited me. It just floated by and hinted at some commentary on the immigrants and the distrust they receive, but it is exclusively done through the dialogue and spelled out for you. There is one moment where Dakota Johnson covers herself up in front of some immigrants, but it could just be attributed to the men being strangers. This really drives at how underdeveloped much of the film is. The themes, the drama, and the characters, are all incredibly raw and undercooked from beginning to end. As such, they fail to engage and just leave the audience wondering if there is more to all of this. It is the kind of film that leaves the audience sitting and wondering, "So what?".

Typically, I love these plotless character-driven films, but there must be characters worthwhile enough to make up for the lack of a driving plot. A Bigger Splash lacks this and, as such, ranks as a dull disappointment for myself. Though Fiennes is brilliant and Swinton is oddly great in a largely mute turn, the film simply does not do enough to justify its own existence, even if the swimming was fun and locales entirely gorgeous.