Swimming Pool [2003] [DVD]

Then Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), the daughter of her publisher shows up. She is an unexpected guest, not only because Sarah assumed she would be alone, but because she did not know he had a daughter. If anything, Sarah has been waiting for him to show up so that she can get in a little relaxation with her rest. Instead Julie shows up and violates not only Sarah's privacy but here sense of propriety. Julie tends walk around topless by the pool and apparently shows no sense of discrimination in bringing home men to sleep with. We know Sarah disapproves of such practices, but this does not stop her from watching Julie, whether she is swimming in the villa's pool or making love to some strange man. It then becomes clear that not only is Julie becoming a part of Sarah's novel, but that something is going to happen; Philippe Rombi's score for this 2003 film foreshadows this even if the plot does not arouse our suspicions....

"Swimming Pool" is usually described as being a thriller, but that strikes me as being off the mark. It is more of a mystery, but in a subtle way, which explains why it is difficult to talk about director François Ozon's film without giving away too much. This is the sort of film where you are going to have to go back and at least watch the end of the film again, if not the entire thing from start to finish, to make sure you understand what happened. You might actually have to do it more than one before you figure things out and are satisfied with your understanding of the film. What helped me out in untangling this film was that for most of it I kept asking what Sarah was writing. There was clearly a connection between what was happening and what Sarah was writing, but I kept waiting for Ozon to show us what that was, which, in the end, only goes to show how much I was fooled by this film. In this regard the film ends up being surprising rather than shocking, in keeping with the subtlety and sensuality of the film.

Be aware that there are two different version of "Swimming Pool" available on DVD: R-rated and Unrated. The difference between the two is that there is full frontal nudity in the unrated version and there are two key things to know about this. First, this is by no means gratuitous nudity. I would go so far as to say the nudity was actually character driven in this film. Second, I heard about all the compliments Diane Keaton was paid for being so daring in "Something's Gotta Give," and I have to assume that many of those people simply did not see "Swimming Pool" even though in terms of length and context the two scenes could hardly be more different. Read more ›

Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is a writer of detective stories that is having trouble finding inspiration for her next novel. In an effort to start her off on the right track again, her publisher loans her a house in the French countryside, in the hope that the peace and seclusion will help her break her writer's block. The house is a beautiful place and has a large swimming pool, a feature that presents no attractiveness whatsoever to Sarah.

One day, not long after Sarah establishes herself in the house, the publisher's daughter, Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), shows up at the house and decides to stay there for a while. This breaks Sarah's peace and serenity and the two women start off to a very rocky start. The personalities are clearly opposite, Julie is extroverted, likes to have fun and swim in the pool, while Sarah is very rigid and hates being around the pool. However, a little time helps them to start to know each other and accept the other person as she is, and even adopt a couple of each other's traits. Sarah even starts writing a story using Julie as a protagonist.

However, after a short time of "truce", the peace is broken by a series of unsettling events that plunge the plot in overdrive and lead to an ending that will leave you will your mouth open and trying to understand what really happened....

Overall, this is a very good movie with high level performances by the two main actresses, especially Sagnier. I would recommend it to those of you who think that you can endure the first half or so, which as I mentioned, consists of rather slow paced developments. Read more ›