Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
An American couple, Paul and Marianne, spend their vacation in Italy and experience trouble when Marianne invites a former lover and his teenage daughter to visit, which leads to jealousy and dangerous sexual scenarios.
A Bigger Splash is elevated well above its premise by extraordinary performances, particularly Tilda Swinton's near-silent turn and Ralph Fiennes's explosive, scene-stealing energy. Luca Guadagnino's direction brings sensuous, sun-drenched cinematography that makes the volcanic Pantelleria landscape feel suffocatingly beautiful and charged with desire. The plot itself, a remake of La Piscine, is a slow-burn psychosexual thriller that occasionally meanders before its dramatic pivot, and the ending, while suitably unsettling, doesn't fully capitalize on the tension built. Novelty is moderate — the film has a distinctive mood and style but follows a familiar quadrangle jealousy structure.