A Bigger Splash (2015)

Director: Luca Guadagnino
Stars: Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes
Runtime: 125 minutes

Synopsis: A couple's vacation on a small island in Italy is disrupted when the woman's ex-boyfriend and his daughter come to visit.

• Performances: 9/10

Why? Not one single bad performance. Matthias Schoenaerts and Dakota Johnson are both excellent in their respective roles. Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes both gave Oscar-worthy performances in my opinion.

• Screenplay: 8/10

Why? Based on a book called "La Piscine" by Alain Page, "A Bigger Splash" acts more as a character study than an actual story. It focuses on four fascinating characters with very different personalities and beautifully gives them life to the point where I forgot that I was watching a movie at times. Add to that engaging dialogue and incredible chemistry and you get one of the best adaptations recently release, and that is despite an ending that feels a bit out of place. 

• Costumes/Makeup: 8/10

Why? They played a huge part in giving the characters their personas. I loved their subtlety and effectiveness.

• Editing: 6/10

Why? I understand that Luca Guadagnino wanted to make the movie feel like a character of its own. A character that would naturally blend with the free-spirited nature of the other characters. To do that, he purposely used sloppy editing and quick cuts that I have to admit, I found distracting. I admire the decision Guadagnino took from an artistic point of view, but can't oversee the fact that I couldn't entirely go with it. 

• Cinematography: 8/10

Why? Much like with its editing, the Italian director chose to handle the film's cinematography in a way that would make it look like a separate character. And this time, it worked like a charm for me. The breathtaking scenery of the Italian island of Pantelleria mixed with the dare I say ugly cinematography gave "A Bigger Splash" a human feel. The second installment of the Desire trilogy (preceding 2017's "Call Me by Your Name", also set in Italy) perfectly blends with its successor and truly feels incorporated in the same universe.   

• Score/Soundtrack: 8/10

Why? Since two of the characters work in the field of music, the soundtrack naturally played a big part in developing the characters' tastes. And it does that perfectly. The mixture of 80s Western songs and local Italian songs also translates splendidly the connection between the four main characters and the location they're vacationing in.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10