LFF – A Bigger Splash fails to make an impact

If you expect nothing from anybody,” writes Sylvia Plath in The Bell Jar, “you’re never disappointed.” Such a statement may seem bleak, but the idea that expectation is the mother of all dissatisfactions is only confirmed by A Bigger Splash, Luca Guadagnino’s much-awaited return to our screens that – while entertaining and well-made – fails to fulfil this reviewer’s hopes.

Guadagnino first burst onto the international scene in 2009, garnering wide acclaim for I Am Love, a sumptuous piece of work centring around an industrial Milanese family; Tilda Swinton gave a magnetic performance as the Russian-born matriarch of the clan, desperately watching her family fall apart whilst entering into a tryst with her son’s friend. And now, seven years on, Guadagnino is back, and has brought Swinton along for the ride, in his remake of Jacques Deray’s 1969 work _La Piscin_e.

Swinton is Marianne Lane, a world-touring, glitter-coated rock star, presumably based on a Bowie archetype. Following an injury to her vocal cords, she has retreated to a private villa in the Strait of Sicily for rest and relaxation, with her long-term boyfriend Paul in tow (Matthias Schoenaerts). Unfortunately, they are tracked down by Harry (Ralph Fiennes), a record producer and old flame of Marianne’s; he brings along newly-discovered daughter, Penelope (Dakota Johnson), and they settle down to an uneasy holiday.

All four leads are excellent in their roles. As perhaps the only character who could possibly be construed as ‘realistic’, Schoenaerts brings a sense of groundedness to his Paul. Swinton faces a challenging role in that Marianne can for the most part only communicate in whispers, but as usual her immense physical presence comes to the fore. As Harry, Fiennes dominates all the scenes he’s in – dancing around the living room to The Rolling Stones, diving naked into the pool, nearly driving his car over a cliff; whenever he enters the frame it become ‘The Harry Show’. Continuing on from his star-turn in Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel, A Bigger Splash sees Fiennes expanding his oeuvre into broad comedy.

But the real discovery here is Dakota Johnson, best known thus far for her work in the flaccid Fifty Shades adaptation; as Penelope she radiates a true sexual charisma, mixing the ingénue and the deviant in a chimerical beast of a role. Manipulative and devious, the interactions between her and Marianne bring to mind the sparring between Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier in Francois Ozon’s Swimming Pool, another psychosexual drama deeply indebted to Deray.

The real discovery here is Dakota Johnson as Penelope

Guadagnino carries over some of the trademark features that left their mark on I Am Love: his creeping use of the slow-zoom shot; frequent jump-cuts; and his propensity to have food stand in for dialogue. While the latter technique fitted in quite well with the plot of his last film (Swinton’s character’s lover is a chef), here there are instances where it is (figuratively) over-egged. We have Marianne being shown by an old nonna how to prepare pure white ricotta, Harry handling a grotesquely oversized hunk of parmesan at a tense dinner. In fact, one of Penelope’s first actions is to peel and bite into a ripe fig in a way that would make Angela Carter blush.

The island setting, too, feels like a misstep. A barren island that admits no beauty, A Bigger Splash resists the best efforts of cinematographer Yorick Le Saux; there are some beautiful scenes shot at night or sunset, but in all the daytime scenes the hot Mediterranean sun bleaches all life out of the film. It’s another unfortunate contrast to I Am Love, on which Le Saux also worked; while that film manages to capture the frantic energy of Milan and the sun-dappled splendour of Sanremo, with A Bigger Splash he can only do so much with the setting.

Furthermore, there is the bizarre choice to set all the action against a backdrop of the current European refugee crisis: towards the middle of the film we start to hear news reports of drownings near Lampedusa, and Penelope is ogled by a group of men during a hike into the mountains (it is perhaps worth pointing out that they are the only non-white characters encountered in the film, and have no lines). It is very unclear what point this is supposed to serve. Are we supposed to feel amused at the irrelevant worries of the rich and famous being cast into shadow by ‘real’ struggles? Or are the characters supposed to be psychologically trapped, just as the refugees are physically detained? The overall effect is just to leave a sense of confusion on the screen, and a bad taste in our mouths.

Standing on its own, A Bigger Splash is a solid film; competently directed, well acted, and – despite certain missteps – delivering a powerful psychological impact. However, given Guadagnino's last film, it comes as a disappointment. I Am Love was like a beautifully presented plate in a Michelin-star restaurant – sumptuous, vibrant, and delectable. In contrast, A Bigger Splash is much like the volcanic rock upon which it is set – unnerving, hostile, and ultimately desolate.