A Bigger Splash

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: May 4, 2016

6.7	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 89 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

SpangleJan 20, 2017

Vapid, soulless, and inconsequential, Luca Guadagnino is simply a dull film that has very literally purpose. It is a film that allegedly has some themes regarding immigration into Europe, but is mostly a drama about four rich people who allVapid, soulless, and inconsequential, Luca Guadagnino is simply a dull film that has very literally purpose. It is a film that allegedly has some themes regarding immigration into Europe, but is mostly a drama about four rich people who all are attracted to one another. European to its very core, this slow paced drama film is erotic, dialogue heavy, and impeccably acted. While hardly engaging and largely just throwaway entertainment masquerading as something more (my biggest problem with this film), A Bigger Splash does feature tremendous performances from Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton that exceed expectations. If nothing else, it cements that the world has been deprived of the David Bowie biopic starring Tilda Swinton for far too long.

A Bigger Splash is the kind of film that is not exactly pretentious, but it certainly feels that it is deep and important. It exudes a certain air of superiority towards its audience as Guadagnino shows off the lush country side of Italy and Ralph Fiennes' member. Nothing that happens - when stuff happens - is overly complicated. It is just jealousy, lust, and murder, aka the big three of film. Nothing makes this unique, just the two hours runtime it takes for A Bigger Splash to actually say nothing on any of the topics. At many points in the film, it is as if the cast decided to get together and vacation, while Guadagnino tagged along. I have no problem with films with limited plots, but it also has no characters. They are written paper thin and are hardly worth diving into further. These four characters - mostly Schoenaerts' and Johnson's - are not really even given the time of day to really communicate who they are in this film. Fiennes' Harry is loud, boisterous, and obnoxious. Swinton's Marianne is a rock star who has a problem with her voice, so she cannot speak. The other two are kind of there, but mostly silent. Harry does most of the talking and Fiennes knocks the role out of the park. He is phenomenal, but it is a shame that his character is so useless and uninteresting without him.

A Bigger Splash just simply never excited me. It just floated by and hinted at some commentary on the immigrants and the distrust they receive, but it is exclusively done through the dialogue and spelled out for you. There is one moment where Dakota Johnson covers herself up in front of some immigrants, but it could just be attributed to the men being strangers. This really drives at how underdeveloped much of the film is. The themes, the drama, and the characters, are all incredibly raw and undercooked from beginning to end. As such, they fail to engage and just leave the audience wondering if there is more to all of this. It is the kind of film that leaves the audience sitting and wondering, "So what?"

Typically, I love these plotless character-driven films, but there must be characters worthwhile enough to make up for the lack of a driving plot. A Bigger Splash lacks this and, as such, ranks as a dull disappointment for myself. Though Fiennes is brilliant and Swinton is oddly great in a largely mute turn, the film simply does not do enough to justify its own existence, even if the swimming was fun and locales entirely gorgeous.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

All this user's reviews

moviemitch96May 27, 2016

Honestly this has got to be one of the most pointless and aimless films I've seen in a while. It literally felt like there was hardly even a story, as our four main characters simply, talk, get naked, swim, rinse and repeat. Not even a castHonestly this has got to be one of the most pointless and aimless films I've seen in a while. It literally felt like there was hardly even a story, as our four main characters simply, talk, get naked, swim, rinse and repeat. Not even a cast this talented could save the film, and even they all looked bored throughout the entire film. Hell, Tilda Swinton had less dialogue than everyone else, yet she was able to give the best and most honest performance out of everyone! How is that even possible!? Indeed, Ralph Fiennes and Matthias Schoenaerts's presence kept things somewhat interesting, but even their performances felt really underwhelming. Don't even get me started on Dakota Johnson, who I've never liked as an actress and once again was just there to act sexy, which is just about all she's good for. And finally, the film was supposedly two hours but towards the end began to drag on and on so bad that it felt more like two and a half hours. Overall, despite the promising and talented cast (minus Dakota Johnson), not even they could save this drag of a film. In other words, to put it bluntly this was simply just a boring, pointless, overrated, and forgettable film,… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

All this user's reviews

netflicJun 6, 2016

Starring Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes.
A convoluted love story, a thriller without a thrill.
Very nice scenery (an island in Italy), decent performance, great casting. It would benefit the movie if it were cut in half, especially theStarring Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes.
A convoluted love story, a thriller without a thrill.
Very nice scenery (an island in Italy), decent performance, great casting. It would benefit the movie if it were cut in half, especially the first half. The movie is very short on substance and even purpose. I felt bored most of the time. In one word, disappointing (especially considering the cast).… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

All this user's reviews

DirigiblePulpMay 21, 2017

Rich beautiful people in the most beautiful location imaginable, authentic outdoor restaurants that exist on mountainsides where only locals and people in movies can find them, and spontaneous karaoke parties break out at dive bars whereRich beautiful people in the most beautiful location imaginable, authentic outdoor restaurants that exist on mountainsides where only locals and people in movies can find them, and spontaneous karaoke parties break out at dive bars where everyone becomes so enamored they can't help but shrug off their desperate lower class ennui and join in. Everyone just has the most major issues and they kind of work through them and sleep with everyone else and it's not all fine in the end.

I can't lie and say it's not fun to live vicariously in this existence but it's too bad it doesn't linger much in the mind; like most superficial things once it's gone so is everything that seemed special about it. Though Ralph Fiennes dancing to "Emotional Rescue" is a highlight that lasts.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

LeZeeSep 29, 2016

Italian holiday! Musics, dances and the water splash.

No offense whoever liked it, but for me it is one of the bad films of the year. It is not a Hollywood, but the cast is and an English language film entirely shot in Italy. TheItalian holiday! Musics, dances and the water splash.

No offense whoever liked it, but for me it is one of the bad films of the year. It is not a Hollywood, but the cast is and an English language film entirely shot in Italy. The performances were powerful, but the story was weak, maybe the pace to blame. Because it is a two hour long drama about the triangular (maybe quadrangle) romance who are holidaying in Italy. Musical presentation was the highlight and most of the time sets near water like a pool or the sea where water splash happens very often like it was mentioned in the title.

Tilda Swinton speaks rarely in it, but her presence was good. Matthias Schoenerts was one of the main cast, but his frequent on and off makes his presence ineffective. And then Dakota Johnson, I don't know why she's in this, but glamouraouly impacted the storytelling. With all this, Ralph Fiennes led the narration alone, with his brilliant act. Like he was never seen before, awesome dedication. I think it should be watched for him, but not enough to praise the overall film.

If you are looking for a normal drama, this is not the right one to pick. This is kind of experimental film, but there's nothing more refreshing, most of the contents were boring. There's no story, just a vacation events where one another all the main characters try to impress. So it is definitely not for everyone, but if you like it, that's good for the film and you, Whatever, I won't favour it unless you got nothing else to try. The music was good, the locations were beautiful, but the film soared with its weakness than the good stuffs and that's how it fared.

4/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

amheretojudgeJun 5, 2018

prominent and neat splashing..

A Bigger Splash The feature demands attention through stunning visuals that are shot beautifully and up beats the tone and the enthusiast of the characters and their individual tales. Addition to that, itprominent and neat splashing..

A Bigger Splash

The feature demands attention through stunning visuals that are shot beautifully and up beats the tone and the enthusiast of the characters and their individual tales. Addition to that, it scores majestically on terms of technical aspects like cinematography, costume design and sound effects. The concept is fresh, eerie and potential enogh to withhold the audience for complete two hours of its runtime. It is bold and not at all pretentious and the primary reason is its gripping screenplay, intriguing conversation and pragmatic characters that the tale revolves around. The adaptation is smart by David Kajganich that is supported by perfect editing. Luca Guadagnino; the director, has done a tremendous work on executing this stunning pitch and pulls it off with confidence on projecting this huge cast on screen. All the actors too, are in their A game and chips it all in and gives a stellar performance especially Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton but doesn't get the support as anticipated by Matthias Schoenaerts and Dakota Johnsson who still needs some more work. The feature also derails somewhere in its final act and fumbles its way down a bit only to pick up for a tense climax. A Bigger Splash is prominent and neat splashing that may be easily forgetful after leaving the screen but until its running, it offers a thrilling ride.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

HabibiehakimSep 20, 2021

Well, at least I Am Love have a little bit point, this one, i just have no idea, it's an uneven movie and an uneven story with a weak performance by everybody except probably Ralph Fiennes, i'm really really curious on what Luca GuadagninoWell, at least I Am Love have a little bit point, this one, i just have no idea, it's an uneven movie and an uneven story with a weak performance by everybody except probably Ralph Fiennes, i'm really really curious on what Luca Guadagnino want us to feel, what i feel while watching the movie is like i'm not finding or still thinking what reaction am i have to feel, and then the movie just end it, so what? that's the same question that i ask to myself after watching I Am Love and now A Big Splash, it's a story that for him is something interesting, for me is just, So What?, and it's leaving a very unsatisfying feeling, overall A Big Splash is another fail by Luca Guadagnino for me.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

NickTheCritickOct 22, 2022

Rock legend Marianne Lane is on vacation on the island of Pantelleria with Paul, the historic partner. The quiet of the Sicilian idyll, however, is disturbed by the arrival of Harry, with whom the woman has had an affair.
it has to be saidRock legend Marianne Lane is on vacation on the island of Pantelleria with Paul, the historic partner. The quiet of the Sicilian idyll, however, is disturbed by the arrival of Harry, with whom the woman has had an affair.
it has to be said that the first 3/4 of this film is truly jaw-dropping. We are faced with an elegant and splendid noir seasoned with a fantastic interpretation by Ralph Fiennes. Guadagnino masterfully build tension between the two men but then he really faces a creative black out. The final act of the film, on the other hand, is an example of how to completely ruin a perfect film. The use of Corrado Guzzanti as a police offer is simply incomprehensible (Guzzanti cannot even act at a basic level) and the ending of the film is really not convincing. The reflection on immigrants is very out of place and coarse and resolution is too hasty. Too bad indeed because this Could have been a great movie but It turns out to be a missed great movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews