Swimming Pool (2003)

Swimming Pool's director seems end the movie while leaving the audience with a burning mystery: Who was that "Julie" girl at the house in France? Was she really the publisher's daughter, was she an impostor, or was she something else entirely? Here's the spoiler --- and this is the REAL spoiler. In the next-to-last scene (which takes place in France), Sarah and the sexy "Julie" prepare to say their goodbyes. Julie crosses the room, and in doing so, passes in front of a full-length mirror. Now, if you saw the movie, did you notice that Julie's image never appears in the mirror?! It's no mistake. That "empty" mirror scene was the KEY to the plot. So the sexy "Julie" did not exist! She was a creation by fiction writer Sarah Morton, who was ALONE at the house the whole time. Later, in London, Sarah sees what his publisher's daughter really looks like, but this last scene only confirms that "Julie" was not really Julie. Clear enough? What a plot! And what a great movie!

Essentially this is a French film: it was written and directed by a Frenchman François Ozon and it was shot by a French crew almost entirely on location in the south of France. But the lead actress is British and half of the dialogue is in English. Charlotte Rampling plays Sarah Morton (actually the name of Rampling's sister who killed herself at the age of 23), an English crime novelist who wants to craft something different. She is offered the use of her publisher's home in rural France where unexpectedly she comes across his daughter Julie played by Ludivine Sagnier. The two women are utterly different and the film - a slow-burning thriller - explores the developing relationship between them and its mysterious consequences with an ending that is highly ambiguous. We think of French films as often involving nudity and there is plenty on show here. Both actresses are beautiful and sexy although, at the time the film was made (2003), Rampling was in her late 50s and Sagnier in her early 20s.

Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is a successful British crime fiction author. She's tired of everything and can't get started on her next novel. Her publisher John Bosload (Charles Dance) offers his french vacation home. It's the off-season, and she finds some peace until John's daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) shows up. Julie is a sexually provocative girl challenging Sarah's reservations. Then one night Julie kills a man after having oral sex.The murder comes in very late in the movie, and the tension doesn't have enough time to rise. The first 2/3 of the movie has a good deal of sexual tension. Although Charlotte Rampling is a great actress, I wonder if the tension could be higher with a male lead. It's a slightly different feel with Rampling and Sagnier. Sagnier never overtly makes a pass at Rampling. I think the movie could have higher tension.

Swimming Pool is one of those films which leaves you questioning everything you've seen. Once it concludes you immediately start running the whole thing back in your mind, trying to piece it all together. It's a film which entertains you while also compelling you to think. That's a very good combination. It is a slow film, taking its time in setting itself up and really taking its time in fully revealing itself. But while there may be moments where you wish the film would pick up the pace it certainly manages to hold your interest throughout. And in the end it is clearly worth having taken the sometimes slow journey towards its intriguing conclusion.The story follows middle-aged English novelist Sarah Morton who, with a bad case of writer's block, has holed up at her publisher's French country house. Alone there Sarah can clear her mind and find her inspiration. But she won't be alone for long, her peaceful serenity disrupted when her publisher's young, nubile and quite oversexed daughter Julie shows up to stay in the house with her. To say that Sarah and Julie don't hit it off would be putting it mildly. Furious with the intrusion Sarah calls her publisher to complain but oddly seems unable to reach him. Little oddities continue to pile up. What exactly is going on here? The film is not going to give up its secrets that easily, you have to wait to the end. But there is really good entertainment to be had as the plot weaves its way to the finish. Sarah does find her inspiration. Where she finds that inspiration and what it leads to is both surprising and smart. Writer/director François Ozon thought his story out very well and executed it in fine fashion.The film's smart, compelling and very intriguing story is played out very well by Charlotte Rampling playing Sarah and Ludivine Sagnier playing Julie. There are other characters who come in and out of the story but it is really all about Sarah and Julie. And both Rampling and Sagnier do excellent work portraying these two very different women. Sarah is cold, stern, reserved. Julie is free, open, wild, full of life. And prone to quite often putting her bodily assets on full naked display. As much as acting the part looking the part was important for the character of Julie and Sagnier is certainly up to the task there. The initial clash between the two main characters is inevitable. But as the story evolves the characters do too and Rampling and Sagnier capture the evolution wonderfully. As Sarah and Julie come to understand each other a little better you would think things in the home would become a little more peaceful. In reality it is at this point where the drama and tension get ratcheted up. The film has some thrills in store. In the end the film gives you much to appreciate. And much to think about.