Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy: Similar Actors Ralph Fiennes and Matthias Schoenaerts Cross Paths in 'A Bigger Splash'

<< Blog | Editorial Features Thursday, September 3, 4:00 PMThu, 3 Sep 2020 @ 4:00 PM by Jake Jizzenhall

Throughout cinema history, there have been some iconic nude scenes that have transcended the bounds of the films in which they appeared. Our weekly columnAnatomy of a Scene's Manatomywill take an in-depth look at these scenes, their history, their deeper meanings, and their legacy. This week, Ralph Fiennes and Matthias Schoenaerts bare all in Luca Guadagnino's breakout feature A Bigger Splash!

Italianfilmmaker Luca Guadagnino wasn't a complete unknown in the world of international cinema when he released his 2015 flick A Bigger Splash, but he also wasn't the guy who brought the world Call Me by Your Name just yet. Most American cinema snobs took note of him in 2009thanks tothe first of histhree collaborations with Tilda Swinton, I Am Love. It was his third feature, 2015's A Bigger Splash, that gave him his biggest budget and most recognizable cast to date, signaling his official arrival as one of the emerging voices in European cinema for that decade.

If you've seen any of Guadanino's films, you know that they typically concern the obscenely wealthy people of the world in lush, beautiful locales, usually in and around Italy. This flick is no exception, centering on music superstar Marianne (Swinton) and her longtime lover and manager Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) living a life of mostly isolation on an Italian island. Their idyllic existence is shattered by the arrival of Harry (Ralph Fiennes) Marianne's former lover and producer, who has his "22 year old daughter" Penelope (Dakota Johnson) in tow. While Paul was hoping to catch a break, not to mention some peace and quiet following a suicide attempt, Marianne is soon under Harry's spell once more and their lives turn into a non-stop party again.

Various transgressions occur, including an unsuccessful attempt at adultery and a presumably—because it happens offscreen—successful one, but the film's climax is reached just past the hour and twenty minute mark. Ralph Fiennes' Harry, drunk and obnoxious once more,goes for his fourth on-screen skinny dip of the film before—SPOILER ALERT—meetinghis end in the pool at the hands of an equally intoxicated Paul.

What is interesting to note about these two actors, beyond the fact that they both go fully nude multiple times in the film, is how similarly their career trajectories line up. Ralph Fiennes spent the 80s training and performing with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company before moving into film in the early 90s. His big breakout came in 1993 in Schindler's List, only his third film, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Fiennes then used this career capital to work sporadically in film and theatre, building an impressive resume on film without ever really becoming a full-on household name type of superstar. His most recognizable role, as Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, finds the actor at his least recognizable.

Matthias Schoenaerts, while fifteen years Fiennes' junior, rose to prominence in his native Belgium at about the same rate with which Fiennes rose in England. International stardom followed around the same age as well, with Schoenaerts' garnering attention for his lead performance in the Oscar nominated 2011 flick Bullhead. His next film was Rust Bone with Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, so within two years he was about as recognizable and notable to cinema enthusiasts as Fiennes was in his early 30s.

Both actors have been nude on film six times, with the bulk of those nude appearances featuring full frontal. Fiennes certainly has his younger counterpart beat when it comes to onstage work, but otherwise they are eerily similar to one another. They both play similar types of characters and one can't help but think that Schoenaerts would be quite content to carve out a similar nicheaswhat Fiennes has done for himself.

It's savvy on Guadagnino's part to bring these two actors together, firmly cementing the "type" that his lead character would fall for, and just once again shows his skill with casting. His films, like them or loathe them, look amazing and are incredibly well acted—Suspiria being an odd exception that proves the rule. It's just another piece of the director's attention to detail on display in casting such similar men for these roles. Fiennes himself is nothing but effusive in his praise for the director in this GQ video, which you can see for yourself below...

It's really no surprise that this film led directly into Call Me by Your Name because both films are suffused with that sun-dappled taste of the forbidden. They look amazing and are impeccably well cast and performed, regardless of any other opinions you may have on the films themselves. Hopefully with Suspiria out of his system, Guadagnino can get back in his comfort zone and deliver us another great naked male two-hander!

Catch up with our other editions of Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy...