Ralph Fiennes & Tilda Swinton: A Bigger Splash film review ★★★★★

But the couple’s idyllic silence is suddenly broken by the unexpected arrival of Marianne’s old flame and ex-manager, the larger-than-life Harry (Ralph Fiennes) bent on triggering nostalgia for his wild rockstar days with Marianne. With him comes Harry's sultry daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson, Fifty Shades of Grey) – with whom he seems uncomfortably intimate – and the forced companionship of this unlikely foursome soon triggers a commotion of jealousy and passion.

Like I Am Love, the first collaboration between Swinton and director Luca Guadagnino, this sophisticated drama explores both violent emotion and the dark underbelly of luxury. Marianne is given a royal welcome wherever she goes but, voiceless, she must still only listen to and observe the tensions spilling out around her in the crisp Mediterranean heat.

Ralph Fiennes is on excellent form as Harry, shifting from charming joker to pitiful has-been and fraught romantic in the blink of an eye. Swinton, who manages to convey an astounding range of emotion whilst barely opening her mouth, commands the screen for the film's two-hour runtime.

A Bigger Splash is visually incredibly textured: we squint at the water glinting in the bright Sicilian sun, against the backdrop of desert and the stony mountains. Yorick Le Saux' heady cinematography washes over the audience with the same glistening sensuality that grips his subjects. The changeable Mediterranean winds are almost a character in their own right, triggering shifts in emotion and heightening the film's erotic tension.

Guadagnino shows rare talent is in creating richly drawn, complex characters, and studying the unspoken agreements and conflicts between them. A tongue-in-cheek social commentary rife with both subtle emotional tension and knuckle-biting humour, Guadagnino's film seduces its audience with unassuming words, knowing looks and lusty glances.

Less erotic thriller than stylish psychodrama, Guadagnino's remake of La Piscine shows his consistent talent in cleverly observing human desire and idiosyncrasy. Of all the directors at this year's London Film Festival, he's definitely one to watch.