A Bigger Splash

Metrograph presents A Bigger Splash, Jack Hazan’s groundbreaking portrait of artist David Hockney and the creative world that surrounded him in the early 1970s. Neither a conventional documentary nor a traditional narrative film, Hazan’s innovative hybrid work blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, creating an intimate and emotionally revealing portrait of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.

Filmed over several years, the movie follows Hockney as he navigates the end of his relationship with American artist and model Peter Schlesinger, who served as both muse and subject for some of Hockney’s most celebrated paintings. As personal heartbreak intersects with artistic creation, the film captures a pivotal period in the artist’s life, revealing how love, loss, and desire became inseparable from his work.

Beyond its value as an artist portrait, A Bigger Splash offers a rare glimpse into queer life at a moment of significant cultural change. Released in 1974, the film depicts gay relationships with a level of honesty and emotional complexity that was uncommon in cinema of the era. Rather than presenting queer characters through narratives of tragedy or shame, it portrays intimacy, friendship, and heartbreak as universal human experiences.

The film also serves as a remarkable document of artistic process. Viewers witness Hockney at work, observe the development of ideas that would influence his paintings, and gain insight into the social and creative networks that shaped his career. The result is both a fascinating historical record and a deeply moving story about love, creativity, and self-expression.

For LGBTQ+ audiences, A Bigger Splash remains an essential work of queer cinema, preserving a vibrant chapter of gay cultural history while offering one of the most nuanced portrayals of same-sex relationships in 1970s film.