Swimming Pool

I first saw this film on HBO in 2005 and now own it. HBO and others continue to run it. It is a very mature, engrossing film with a metaphorical plot. From the opening credits it immediately begs for your attention and once it has you in its grasp, you will find you cannot escape. A successful author of a series of mystery novels but bored with her work, Charlotte Rampling goes to the south of France for looking for fresh ideas for a new book, begins down one avenue and then changes direction. The ___location, photography and performances are exceptional as is the set design, replete with elegant simplicity that flows past your eyes. You are drawn in so well you can taste the wine and feel the pool's water flowing around you. The actors, especially Rampling and the actress who plays Julie, are impeccable. The Swimming Pool is a totally wonderful experience. Dive in!

This film owes a great deal of gratitude to the second collaboration between Francois Ozon and his leading lady, Charlotte Rampling. They ought to team up more.

As with the previous film, Under the Sand, this is an enigmatic piece of cinema. This film, I believe, has more to do with Sarah Morton's imagination than with the actual story presented to us. There are so many hidden clues within the story that everyone will have a different take in what is presented in the film and what the actual reality is.

Francois Ozon is not a boring director. He will always present an interesting story, fully developed, with many twists to get his viewer into going in different directions trying to interpret it all.

Charlotte Rampling is magnificent as Sarah Morton, the repressed author of mystery novels. Ludivine Sagnier is very good as the mysterious Julie, the alleged daughter of Sarah's publisher, but now, is she really that person?

The ending will baffle the viewer. This is a film that will stay and haunt one's mind for days.

Swimming Pool is a first rate film from French genius François Ozon. This thriller makes best use of everything that makes cinema great, and it is therefore a delight to view. Swimming Pool follows Sarah Morton, a British author that travels to her publisher's dream home in France in order to have a rest while she works on her new book. However, her tranquillity is soon disturbed when her publisher's daughter; a sex-crazed, good time girl, turns up out of the blue and turns Morton's rest into something quite different. One criticism that could be, and has been, made of this film is that not a lot a lot happens. That, however, depends on your viewpoint; the action is stretched, but the relaxed tone of the film blends magnificently with the beautiful French scenery, and Ozon's attention to detail with the characters ensures that, although slow, Swimming Pool never descends into boredom and there's always something on offer for it's audience to enjoy. I, personally, was completely entranced from start to finish.

The casting of Charlotte Rampling as the uptight British novelist really was an inspired move. She's absolutely brilliant in the role, and you can't imagine anyone else playing that character to such a degree. Speaking of great casting choices, Ludivine Sagnier is similarly brilliant as Rampling's sexy co-star. She brings just the right amount of insecurity and lustfulness to her role, and it's not hard to see why Ozon continues to cast her in his movies. The film is very melodramatic, but never overacted; and this is a testament to the quality of acting on display. Swimming Pool benefits implicitly from a haunting soundtrack, which perfectly accents the happenings on screen, and certain points in the movie where the soundtrack is used are truly electrifying. François Ozon is truly one of cinema's greatest assets at the moment. This is only my second taste of his work (the hilariously fabulous 'Sitcom' being the other), and if his backlog and future releases match the quality of the two films I've seen from him so far; he may well become one of cinema's all time greats.

A British mystery novelist called Sarah Morton (Charlote Rampling) is really blocked, so she's bored by her successful series de mysteries and while seeking inspiration for her new book. She then accepts an offer from her publisher John Bosload (Charles Dance) to stay at his home in Luberon, in the South of France. So Sarah arrives in her publisher's home in the South of France, where she eventually finds inspiration. Sarah takes a fine break at thr Provencal holiday home and finds the relaxed paradise creatively stimulating until his teenage daughter (Ludivigne Sagnier) turns up unannounced. Sarah interaction with his unusual daughter sets off some touchy dynamics. Tension coming to a head when the promiscous girl brings home a handsome local waiter (Lamour) the older woman has been slowly befriending. Tired of London and Dive into this summer's sexiest mystery !. On the surface, all is calm !.

An interesting drama in which tensions, jealouses , suspense and nudism developing throughout. For all its many twists which by the end probably become a little perplexing for the inattentive. It's a decent film with colorful cinematography, intriguing score and nice interpretation, but all of them can't compensate for the superficiality of the movie's hackeyed premise. Moreover, some of the scenes in English are clumsily developed and some details are downright implausible. Ozon's movie is derivative and predictable , that's why do blocked crime writers always fantasize themselves into a scenario which will restore creativity. Terrific performances from Charlotte Rampling as the uptight, repressed British mystery author who seeks a wrong place to rest and Ludivigne Segnier as as the tempting and seductive young woman who arouses unspeakable passions.

Yorick Le Saux's sumptuous camerawork succeeds in build a mood of febrile sensuality. Adding a suspenseful and mysterious musical score by Philippe Rombi in the wake of the composer Bernard Herrmann, Hitchcock's regular. The film was professionally directed by Francois Ozon, but turned out to be a bit slow and implausible at times, though definitively engaging the viewer. Ozon is considered to be one of the best French filmmakers. His favorite director is Rainer Werner Fassbinder, that's why he made 'Peter Von Kant'. Ozon considers filmmaking a "parallel world", in which he flees the boring everyday life. Ozon calls actress Romola Garai his muse. Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2012 and he has won several prizes. Ozon is a prolific writer and director who has made all kinds of genres with penchant for comedy and drama, such as: ¨By the Grace of God' , 'Été 85', 'Le Refuge', 'Peter Von Kant', '5x2' , 'Angel', 'Dans la maison', 'Swimming pool' , 'Le temps qui reste', 'Criminal lovers', 'Everything Went Fine', 'Sitcom', among others. And his last one, a crime comedy titled 'Mon crime' (2023). Rating Swimming Pool: 6.5/10. The flick will appeal to Charlotte Rampling fans.

In London, the successful and weird middle-aged writer of crime and mystery novels Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is passing through a phase of lack of inspiration. Her publisher John Bosload (Charles Dance) invites her to spend some summertime days in his house in a small town in France, where there is inclusive a swimming pool. He also suggests her to make the experience of writing about a different theme to break her block. Sarah accepts the invitation and travels to the wonderful and lonely place. A few days later, she starts writing again, but her quiet rest is shaken with the unexpected arrival of Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), the sexy daughter of John. From that moment on, reality and dream blend in Sarah's world.

"Swimming Pool" is a film with ambiguous conclusion by François Ozon. I did not dislike this movie, but I believe it is indeed an excellent idea, wasted in a very disappointing conclusion. There are many unexplained subplots and the story is completely open to the most different interpretations, and of course I have mine. But without reading any information or clue from the writer and director François Ozon about his real intention, it is impossible to give a precise clarification. Europeans usually like this type of open-ending to discuss about, but in this situation, the film does not give necessary hints about the real intention of the plot. The viewer can speculate only. Charlotte Rampling has a magnificent interpretation, Ludivine Sagnier has a very erotic performance, but to become an excellent film, many clarifications are missing. The Unrated DVD from Focus Features offers deleted scenes that may help the interpretation that Sarah was alone in the house. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Swimming Pool: À Beira da Piscina" ("Swimming Pool: On the Edge of the Swimming Pool")

Note: On 21 January 2025, I saw this film again.