Monday, May 30, 2016

A Bigger Splash Review

A Bigger Splash stars Tilda Swinton, as a world famous singer named Marianne. She is on an Italian island with her boyfriend Paul, played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Marianne is recovering from throat surgery when suddenly her ex-boyfriend, Harry, and his daughter, Penelope, show up uninvited. Harry's sudden arrival puts this unwanted strain on Marianne and Paul's relationship. Throughout the entire film you wonder if at some point one of them will crack.

The first thing I took away from seeing A Bigger Splash was just how beautiful it was.  The Italian landscape was bright and vibrant. The places the characters visited made it feel like you were on vacation with them, especially this small secluded restaurant on a hillside. I also enjoyed watching them embrace the Italian culture with the meals they made. I know these are odd things to take away from the movie, but it really made it feel like you were there.

The acting in A Bigger Splash is outstanding. Since Tilda's character is recovering from throat surgery she is not allowed to speak. You have to rely on her facial expressions or her interactions with Matthias to know what she is trying to say. When she does speak it is a gentle raspy whisper. The standout for this movie though is Ralph Fiennes who plays Harry. He brings this energy and spunk to the film. Harry loves the Italian culture and takes Marianne, Paul and his daughter to the must see locations. You can also tell Harry still has feelings for Marianne every time they share screen time together.

One complaint I have with A Bigger Splash was that at times it really slowed down. I enjoyed watching them move from location to location, but once they got there and just talked it got a tad boring. They would also show these flashbacks of Marianne and Harry that would give insight to their past relationship. I felt that these were unnecessary. I could tell from the way they interacted that they had a steamy past, I didn't need to see it in flashbacks.

A Bigger Splash is a gorgeous film with outstanding performances from Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes. It isn't the most exciting movie ever made, but is still worth seeing, especially if you have ever wanted the Italian island experience.

2 comments:

Zach Murphy said...

Great review.

I agree that the flashbacks weren't really needed.

I found the film to be beautiful and engrossing, but I think I could've done without the last 20 minutes as well.

- Zach

Steven said...

Hey Zach! Thanks for commenting! You are right the last 20 minutes weren't needed. Made it feel like a totally different film at the end.