Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fienes, Matthais Schenaerts, Dakota Johnson, Aurore Clément, Lily McMenamy, Corrado Guzzanti, Elena Bucci.
The world of the Rock star, the chameleons of the stage who give so much of themselves to the world and who don’t notice until it is perhaps too late just how much has been taken, how much has been eroded away, sometimes find they have become pale imitations of themselves and the need to retreat becomes not only a tantalising thought but one of necessity.
In David Kajganich’s screenplay of A Bigger Splash, the fabulous look into the world of one such woman, the barriers between the relationship of sex and assumed hedonism are blurred, moulded into something beyond distinction and given a fascination that borders on the voyeuristic but then whips away a crucial piece of evidence needed to make up the viewer’s mind at the last minute and for that it becomes a glorious memory of sound and indulgence.
The entanglement and collision of lives is forever hanging in the air and the subtle nuances of the outside world, something we all try to forget once in a while as we steady our own lives, is filled to the point where you don’t notice that you have spotted it being mentioned. It is a clever position set down by screen-writer and actor alike that the audience to begin with does not take in this back-ground information which will have bearing upon the film and perhaps bring out the worst in cinema audiences as they realise just how a personal disaster can be changed by shifting the responsibility.
A Bigger Splash brings back together Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fienes on screen and they benefit from their previous working relationships in a way that makes their performances in the parts of Marianne Lane and Harry Hawkes seem naturally relaxed and one steeped in mutual admiration for their cinematic prowess. The camera especially adores Ralph Fienes as he takes up the mantle of an aging music producer whose life revolves around stories of past glories and the hunt for further trophies; the subtle shift in how the audience perceives him coming out of the blue and given a masterly touch by one of Britain’s foremost screen actors.
A Bigger Splash is a film of style, of invoking a passion for a world in which to escape from the pressures of being someone, being anyone, even oneself, is to grasp with true self worth; it is a self worth that comes with a price.
Ian D. Hall