Dakota Johnson in a scene from “A Bigger Splash.”

Dakota Johnson in a scene from “A Bigger Splash.”

Plenty of skin to see in ‘A Bigger Splash’

  • By Robert Horton Herald movie critic
  • Wednesday, May 18, 2016 5:45pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Movie nudity is usually an exercise in self-consciousness. Actors so often look awkward and uncomfortable — they cover up in ways people would never do if there weren’t a camera there — or they look unnaturally exuberant.

I had time to think about this while watching the various nude scenes in “A Bigger Splash,” in part because the nakedness is so realistically casual here. Maybe it takes great actors like Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes to convince us that they’re really just lounging around in the buff.

Or maybe the whole thing is just so decadently European, nobody got too excited about the bare necessities.

In any case, “A Bigger Splash” is an arty, enjoyable piece of trash, served up hot and steaming by director Luca Guadagnino. He’s the filmmaker behind “I Am Love,” which caused a stir in arthouses in 2009. That movie was also pretty silly, but some people took it seriously.

The new film is a loose remake of a 1969 film, “La Piscine.” Swinton plays a rock star called Marianne, who has retreated to a lush Italian island with her lover Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts).

She’s had surgery on her vocal cords, so she can’t speak for a month. But who needs talk when you can lounge naked around the pool on an Italian island?

A snake enters this Eden when Marianne’s coked-up ex, Harry (that’s Fiennes) shows up with his daughter (Dakota Johnson, of “Fifty Shades of Grey” notoriety). He wants to get back with Marianne, and doesn’t care who knows it.

By the way, it isn’t enough for Guadagnino to have this be a metaphorical snake. He shows a serpent slithering its way into Marianne’s retreat. Not a subtle filmmaker.

But he is splashy, and the film is lush to look at. The movie is a designer’s dream, and you’ll want to make it your life’s work to find an open-air restaurant perched on an island hillside, where the characters share a memorable dinner.

Swinton is compelling, although robbing her character of her voice (it was the actress’s idea) seems counter-productive. Fiennes is in rare form, but so manic you can’t understand why people allegedly enjoy his company.

Schoenaerts, the Belgian star of “The Danish Girl” and “Far from the Madding Crowd,” is maybe a little too sensible to make his character’s backstory credible. But he and Swinton are a handsome couple.

And that’s what’s important here: how good everything looks. The story is overheated and the characters unlikely, but watch “A Bigger Splash” and your eyes will be filled.

“A Bigger Splash” 2 stars

An overheated look at a singer (Tilda Swinton) and her lover (Matthias Schoenaerts) getting interrupted on an Italian island by the arrival of her ex (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson). Everything’s overdone, but director Luca Guadagnino (“I Am Love”) makes this arty trash very enjoyable to look at.

Rating: R, for nudity, language, violence

Showing: Guild 45th

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.