A Bigger Splash
13/11/16 Filed in: DVD
Helen bought a couple of DVDs this week, one of which was this film. We watched it yesterday evening.
A bit of research informs me that it is a remake of Jacques Deray's 1969 psychological thriller, La Piscine (The Swimming Pool). Certainly the swimming pool features strongly, particularly at the end.
It has a main cast of four. Tilda Swinton plays Marianne, a famous rock star who is taking time out with her partner, Paul, played by Matthias Schoenarts. Marianne is under orders not to speak as she tries to recover her voice. Their tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Harry, brilliantly played by Ralph Fiennes, a record producer who was once Mariannes lover, and who brings with him his daughter Penelope, played by Dakota Johnson of 50 Shades of Grey fame.
The frisson generated by the arrival of Harry and his daughter is immediate. He obviously isn't over Marianne, while Penelope has immediate eyes for Paul. To say Harry is over the top is an understatement. He never stops talking, is hyperactive, seems worryingly interested in his daughter and has a habit of stripping off for the pool, never mind everybody's presence. Meanwhile Paul remains reserved but is clearly uneasy. We learn that Harry actually introduced him to Marianne.
A bit of research informs me that it is a remake of Jacques Deray's 1969 psychological thriller, La Piscine (The Swimming Pool). Certainly the swimming pool features strongly, particularly at the end.
It has a main cast of four. Tilda Swinton plays Marianne, a famous rock star who is taking time out with her partner, Paul, played by Matthias Schoenarts. Marianne is under orders not to speak as she tries to recover her voice. Their tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Harry, brilliantly played by Ralph Fiennes, a record producer who was once Mariannes lover, and who brings with him his daughter Penelope, played by Dakota Johnson of 50 Shades of Grey fame.
The frisson generated by the arrival of Harry and his daughter is immediate. He obviously isn't over Marianne, while Penelope has immediate eyes for Paul. To say Harry is over the top is an understatement. He never stops talking, is hyperactive, seems worryingly interested in his daughter and has a habit of stripping off for the pool, never mind everybody's presence. Meanwhile Paul remains reserved but is clearly uneasy. We learn that Harry actually introduced him to Marianne.
You feel as you watch the progress of the story that it is never going to end well, and it doesn't. Harry is heading for a showdown with Paul, Penelope was always going to get her way, while Marianne's emotions are torn between her obvious love for Paul, and her past, and perhaps continuing love for Harry.
A very stylish film with the backdrop of the island of Pantelleria in the Strait of Sicily. Reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes score it at 90%, with the audience giving it 60%. The acting is precisely what you would expect from this fine cast, with Fiennes perhaps being singled out for his audacious characterisation.
A very stylish film with the backdrop of the island of Pantelleria in the Strait of Sicily. Reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes score it at 90%, with the audience giving it 60%. The acting is precisely what you would expect from this fine cast, with Fiennes perhaps being singled out for his audacious characterisation.