A Bigger Splash (2015)

A rock star (Tilda Swinton) and her photographer boyfriend (Matthias Schoenaerts, RUST AND BONE) are vacationing on a small Italian island while her voice recuperates. But their idyll is interrupted by a visit from her ex-lover (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson). I was a huge fan of Luca Guadagnino's I AM LOVE (2009) so I was highly anticipating this. I wasn't disappointed. This is a loose remake of Jacques Deray's 1969 film, LA PISCINE which I liked very much. But while Deray's film was a stylish perverse thriller, Guadagnino gives his film a potent emotional core which Deray's film lacked. It's a discreetly sensual film in which full nudity abounds (both sexes) naturally and doesn't make a big deal about it. The four leads give strong performances with Fiennes giving the best performances he's given in years playing the kind of person who's all hyper and won't shut up till you want to punch his face in but ultimately Fiennes lets us understand his pain. The film goes beyond its expiration point but it's so good, I can forgive it that. With Aurore Clement, Corrado Guzzanti and Elena Bucci.