Now Showing: Splendour

 

Splendour

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Director: Brady Corbet

Writer: Lon Charles

Cast: Rebecca Hall, Ashton Kutcher, Michael Pitt, Wyatt Russell, Ron Livingston

Plot: Shortly after dawn on November 29, 1981, the body of film actress Natalie Wood (Rebecca Hall) is found drifting in the shallow waters outside Catalina Island. One mile out to sea from the body is the Splendour, a 58-foot yacht. Fishermen call out in alarm at the sight of the body. Police arrive and secure the scene. As crime scene technicians snap photos, the body is zipped into a back bag.

The Splendour is docked at a marina on Catalina. Detective Duane Rasure (Ron Livingston) steps off the pier onto the deck of the Splendour. A uniformed officer rushes to him, eager to inform the detective that it looks like there was an accident and that Wood fell overboard. Rasure asks the officer to round up everyone who was on the boat the night before for questioning.

In his office, Rasure reviews the preliminary statements in his office while looking at pictures of the three men he is set to interview: Wood's husband, TV star Robert Wagner (Ashton Kutcher); Oscar-nominated film actor and Wood's co-star on a sci-fi film project, Christopher Walken (Michael Pitt); and the boat's captain, Dennis Davern (Wyatt Russell).  

First on the schedule is Robert Wagner. He sits at the table, his hands folded, his expression tense. Rasure asks Wagner to start from the beginning and walk him through the events of the night in question. Wagner starts defensive but composed, presenting himself as a devoted husband. Wagner recalls the evening starting pleasantly enough, sitting at the head of the table, his hand resting on Natalie's shoulder. Across the table, Walken dominates the conversation, praising Natalie's acting and discussing her future projects. Wagner sits beside Natalie, smiling along. "Chris had a way of talking like he knew everything about everyone. It wasn't anything new, but that night, it got under my skin." Natalie laughs at all of Walken's remarks, but Wagner begins to interpret it as mockery. He mildly interjects, telling Walken to keep the conversations with his wife professional. When Walken suggests that Natalie should focus more on her acting career, Wagner leans in and tells Walken that Natalie also has a family to think about.

After dinner, Wagner remembers sitting in the salon of the yacht with Walken and Natalie. Walken makes a comment about how marriage shouldn't hold back your career. Wagner doesn't appreciate this comment. "He was trying to make me feel small, like I didn't know what was best for my own wife. I told him to back off." Wagner stands, his voice rising as he accuses Walken of overstepping. Natalie intervenes, telling them both to stop. She grabs her coat and gracefully heads to the deck of the boat with her coat. "She needed a moment to cool off. I thought giving her space was the right thing to do."

In Wagner's memory, he returns to the salon, pouring another glass of wine. When Walken tries to bring up Natalie's career again, Wagner smashes a wine bottle. Walken soon retires to bed while Wagner, realizing that he has lost his cool, begins sweeping up the mess. The ship's captain, Dennis Davern enters, saying he can't find Natalie. "I went to the deck. Her coat was there, but she wasn't. I called her name, but the water was so dark... I couldn't see anything." Wagner shouts Natalie's name out across the water into the empty night. "It doesn't make sense. I didn't hear anything - no splash, no struggle." Wagner sits on the deck of the Splendour, his head in his hands. Wagner notices the that dinghy is gone. He comments that Natalie hated the water, and that it all doesn't make sense. Rasure has taken vigorous notes while listening to Wagner's story. Sensing that Wagner is at the end of the story, he thanks him for his time.

Next Rasure meets with Christopher Walken, who seems calm and detached, portraying himself as a neutral observer caught in the middle of a tragedy. "Bob's a jealous guy. Always has been. You can feel it when you walk in the room." Walken remembers Natalie as warm and animated. She laughs easily at his jokes. In Walken's version, Wagner is tense and withdrawn from the beginning. "Natalie was the brightest thing in the room. Bob hated that." Walken recalls complimenting Natalie's work on the film they've been shooting together, calling her a once-in-a-generation talent. Wagner cuts in with a passive-aggressive remark, and Natalie grows visibly irritated. "She told him to knock it off. She just wanted to have a nice evening."

Walken claims Wagner became confrontational after dinner, accusing him of undermining their marriage. "Bob was jealous. I get it, but I wasn't doing anything wrong." In his version, Natalie tries to mediate but eventually storms out, heading to the deck. Wagner follows Natalie out, leaving Walken in the salon alone. As Walken pours himself another drink, he hears raised voices outside - muffled but heated. He doesn't intervene, retreating to his cabin instead. "I thought it was just another argument. They'd been tense all weekend." 

Walken tells Rasure that he was awoken by Dennis knocking on his cabin door, saying Natalie was missing. When Walken comes up to the deck, Wagner is pacing frantically, shouting Natalie's name into the darkness. "There was nothing we could do. The water was too dark, too cold. It was already too late."

The last name on Rasure's list of interviews is captain of the Splendour, Dennis Davern, who appears guilt-ridden and hesitant to talk to Rasure. In Davern's memory, the dinner is tense from the start. Wagner is drinking heavily, while Walken cracks jokes that feel like veiled jabs, oblivious to the tension he is causing. Natalie seems caught in the middle, smiling tightly but growing quieter and more exhausted as the meal goes on. "You could feel it building. Bob was irritated, Chris was pushing buttons, and Natalie... she just wanted them to stop."

After dinner, Davern hears shouting from the salon as he clears plates in the galley. He glances into the room, seeing Wagner and Walken standing toe-to-toe while Natalie sits between them. "She got up and left. I should have done something then." Davern hears raised voices on the deck but doesn't intervene, worried if he oversteps he may lose his cushy job. "It wasn't my place... or at least that's what I told myself."

Davern describes finding Natalie's coat on the deck and realizing that something was wrong. He runs to the salon to tell Wagner, who immediately starts searching the yacht. "We called her name, over and over. But it was too quiet out there. Just... nothing." When they go up to the deck, Davern notices that the boat's dinghy is missing and something is wrong.

Rasure sits alone in the interview room. He has gone over every piece of evidence from the scene and transcripts of all three interviews he conducted. On his report, he jots down the case as an accidental drowning, closing the case.

Wagner returns home, struggling with how to break the news to his children that their mother has died. He holds his three daughters closely, tearfully telling them that their mother is with the angels now, watching over them. He stares at a framed photo of Natalie on a nearby table as he holds his daughters. 

Walken retreats to his Manhattan apartment. He sits down in front of his piano. After playing a few notes, he slams the piano lid shut. He glances at the cover of the latest issue of the New York Daily News, revealing the headline: "Walken Questioned in Natalie Wood Case." Walken picks it up, reads a few lines, and crumples it up.

Davern sits on the edge of the bed in a dingy motel room. The room is cluttered with beer cans and newspapers. He flips through one of the newspapers. 

At an industry event, Wagner waves at the cameras. Several reporters step forward and begin firing questions at him about Natalie's death. Wagner stops in his tracks. At first he wants to ignore them all, but he changes his mind. He addresses the reporters and their cameras. "Natalie was the love of my life. What happened was a tragic accident. That's all I have to say." The reporters call out more questions, but Wagner turns and walks away.

Months later on a late-night talk show, Walken sits across from the host. The host first asks about Walken's latest project, which he happily describes. Then the host asks about the night Natalie Wood died. The audience falls silent. Walken insists he has nothing to say on the topic.

Years later, Davern sits in front of television cameras. He speaks with a reporter who is excited to finally hear what really happened on the Splendour in November, 1981. The reporter asks Davern why he wants to speak out now. Davern hesitates before beginning to tell his version of the events again. He tells the same story he told Rasure, but he begins painting Wagner differently. He states that Wagner was with Natalie every time he saw her on the boat, and that Wagner didn't seem surprised by the dinghy being gone. The interviewer asks Davern if he is accusing Robert Wagner of being involved in Natalie Wood's death. Davern begins stammering. He explains that he doesn't know for sure what happened, but Wagner was the last one with her and he probably knows the truth.

Rasure stands on the docks in Catalina. He stares at the yacht - the Splendour. 

In his Hollywood estate, Robert Wagner sits near a fireplace staring at a picture of Natalie, running his fingers over the image. "I loved you, Natalie. And I still do." 

In a sunlit flashback, Wagner and Natalie are together, laughing and talking on the deck of the Splendour.

Natalie Wood (1938–1981)

Her death remains officially ruled as an accidental drowning.