Entertaining and sexy, this story of a rock star whose idyllic vacation with her boyfriend is interrupted by her ex and his daughter boasts intense performances, beautiful scenery, glorious cinematography, and gratuitous nudity. Both Tilda Swinton as the Patti-Smith-style singer Marianne (more on that in a moment) recuperating from throat surgery and Ralph Fiennes as her relentless narcissistic ex-lover Harry were last blogged in Hail Caesar! and they are formidable in this movie. Mattias Schoenaerts (most recently in The Danish Girl) and Dakota Johnson (covered in How To Be Single) are also great as the current boyfriend Paul and Fiennes' daughter Penelope, respectively. Apparently the filmmakers have said that the rock star is a blend of Patti Smith, David Bowie, Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett, and others, and did quite a bit of research with the Rolling Stones to flesh out Marianne and Harry's "old days."
Director Luca Guadagnino (last helmed I Am Love) works from a story by Alain Page (the same story Page contributed to La Piscine (1969)) and screenplay by David Kajganich (both new to me). Jack commented that it's a classic scenario--a group of damaged people trapped together--and things do go haywire.
Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux (he shot Swimming Pool (2003)--another adaptation of the 1969 movie above, I Am Love, and Clouds of Sils Maria) brings us magnificent photography making me yearn for an Italian beach trip.
We are in line with Rotten Tomatoes' critics' 89% way more than its audiences' 62. My "gratuitous nudity" remark is taken from a movie-goer's criticism but Jack and I have no problem with it, at least in this case. We saw it three weeks ago and it's gone from our area, but when I looked at the official website and zoomed out on the map, I could see plenty of places it's still playing. Or you could wait for the DVD release, estimated to be around Labor Day, 2016.
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