What filmmaking techniques does A Bigger Splash use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in A Bigger Splash (2015): Silent Performance Centrality, Source Story Transplant, Heat as Psychological Pressure and Pop Music Needle Drop.

Who directed A Bigger Splash?

Luca Guadagnino directed A Bigger Splash, released in 2015. CineCode also covers I Am Love (2010), Call Me by Your Name (2017), Suspiria (2018), Bones and All (2022), Challengers (2024), Queer (2024).

What films are similar to A Bigger Splash?

Films that share techniques with A Bigger Splash include The Godfather Part II (1974), 12 Angry Men (1957), Goodfellas (1990), The Departed (2006).

Drama · Thriller

A Bigger Splash

Luca Guadagnino, 2015

A rock star recovering from throat surgery is on vacation on the Italian island of Pantelleria with her boyfriend when her ex-lover and his daughter arrive uninvited. Old feelings come back, and a night by the pool goes wrong. It is a loose remake of the 1969 French film La Piscine.

2 Cinematography 1 Narrative 1 Sound

At a glance

A Bigger Splash is a 2015 drama and thriller film directed by Luca Guadagnino. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 cinematography, 1 narrative and 1 sound), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Godfather Part II uses several of the same techniques.

Cinematography

Silent Performance Centrality

Building long stretches around 1 performer's face and body with little or no dialogue. The camera stays close and lets their behavior tell you what they are feeling.

How this film uses it

Marianne has lost her voice, so Tilda Swinton has to act with signs, whispers and her face. The film keeps the camera on her while others talk around her. You learn what she thinks from how she looks.

Where to see it

The villa conversations. Marianne communicates by signs and whispers while Harry takes over the room.

Narrative

Source Story Transplant

Moving a known story into a new genre, country or era while keeping its core plot, so the familiar skeleton takes on a different meaning.

How this film uses it

The film takes the skeleton of La Piscine and sets it on the Italian island of Pantelleria with a rock star and a record producer. The story of four people at a villa stays the same, and the new setting changes how it feels.

Where to see it

The pool death. Harry returns late, fights Paul beside the pool, and they fall in, where Paul holds him underwater.

Cinematography

Heat as Psychological Pressure

Showing heat, sweat and physical discomfort through lighting, costume and acting. The characters' bodies suffer in a way that lets you see their minds breaking down.

How this film uses it

The villa and the pool sit under a hot Italian sun, and everyone is half undressed and restless. The heat makes tempers short and judgment loose. You feel how the discomfort pushes the characters toward bad decisions.

Where to see it

The pool after the fight. Paul tries to revive Harry and then leaves the body on the pool floor.

Sound

Pop Music Needle Drop

Playing an existing popular song at a precise moment in the film. The song's lyrics, era and associations add irony, period feel or emotion that an original score could not.

How this film uses it

Harry dances to the Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue" at the villa, and the song's swagger shows who he is. The music is loud and joyful in a story that is moving toward a death.

Where to see it

Harry's dance. Harry acts as if the villa is his own, and Marianne begins to fall under his spell again.

Questions

A Bigger Splash: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does A Bigger Splash use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in A Bigger Splash (2015): Silent Performance Centrality, Source Story Transplant, Heat as Psychological Pressure and Pop Music Needle Drop.
Who directed A Bigger Splash?: Luca Guadagnino directed A Bigger Splash, released in 2015. CineCode also covers I Am Love (2010), Call Me by Your Name (2017), Suspiria (2018), Bones and All (2022), Challengers (2024), Queer (2024).
What films are similar to A Bigger Splash?: Films that share techniques with A Bigger Splash include The Godfather Part II (1974), 12 Angry Men (1957), Goodfellas (1990), The Departed (2006).

Keep watching