Film discussion: A Bigger Splash

Stir lightly, resulting in (according to the film’s description of itself) “a whirlwind of jealousy, passion and, ultimately, danger for everyone involved.”

Serve hot.

That’s what you can expect tomorrow night, when we do the last discussion of the summer at The Music Hall. The movie is A Bigger Splash, which comes with an excellent pedigree, being directed by Luca Guadagnino, an Italian director who made his first mark in the world with Melissa P, a story of a young woman who … oh never mind. But he also directed I Am Love, another film starring Tilda Swinton, and it’s a genuine masterpiece.

I decided to do a discussion of A Bigger Splash because it’s fun to check in on the European sensualist genre every once in a while. And with a cast like this one, the movie should be a thoroughbred example of its type.

Plus, while lots (and lots) of American movies try to drive on the erotic/dangerous highway (remember Fatal Attraction or Body Double, just to name two), I think the Europeans just do it better.

I know (from my reading, since I haven’t seen the film yet) that there will be plenty of emotional fireworks. When a filmmaker decides to make a movie with just four people, the result isn’t likely to be a drawing-room comedy. Beautiful, rich people in isolated surroundings seems to just cry out for intense revelations and extreme actions. Somebody might get hurt. We’ll see.

With the Olympics now over, I think we all need some eye candy to help us with the withdrawal from the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. And A Bigger Splash should do the trick. It’s back-to-school time; let’s enjoy some August.