Swimming Pool

Released 2003
Stars Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance, Marc Fayolle, Jean-Marie Lamour
Directed by François Ozon

Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is a British "crime fiction writer" who seems to have been based, at least in part, on her real-life counterparts, P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. Burned out and fed up, she pays a visit to her publisher, John Bosload (Charles Dance), in search of a little inspiration. John has just the thing for her - spend a few weeks at his country house in France. There, she will have the peace and quiet she needs to write a new novel. She accepts his offer, and, at first, the secluded place, with its wooded grounds and secluded swimming pool, are perfect. Enter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), John's rebellious, oversexed, teenage daughter, who intends to share the house with the older, more reserved woman. Sarah is not pleased, and her attempts to establish boundaries are continually flouted by Julie, who brings a new man home every night and keeps Sarah awake with the sounds of her lovemaking. Gradually, however, the relationship between the two softens, until a series of events cause a radical shift.

Summary by James Berardinelli

I love subtle films, but this one was too subtle for me. I expected some kind of distortion of reality where we drifted in and out of the book Sarah was writing, but I missed the clues. Apparently they were there, but I didn't see them. So that basically left me with a gorgeous, young blonde traipsing around the screen mostly nude. Ok, so it wasn't all bad. --Bill Alward, February 23, 2004