Swimming Pool [2003] [DVD]

This is a very stylish, very atmospheric, very French and also a very slow film. It's a mystery film about a mystery writer. The writer, Sarah (Charlotte Rampling), is a very British lady with much British restraint. At the invitation of her publisher John (Charles Dance) she spends time at his house in France to help her overcome a bout of writers block. And one can't shake off the feeling that she is expecting, or at least secretly hoping for, a visit from him while there. Or is it all a fantasy of hers? Because with her appearance, the short and practical haircut, the minimal makeup, her rather masculine style of dressing, one can't but wonder where her sexual preference lies.One night, completely out of the blue, arrives Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), a brash and vivacious young woman claiming to be John's daughter. The two women resent each other's presence but manage to arrange themselves to coexist in the house, the atmosphere charged with the tension between the repressed spinster and the promiscuous girl who brings home a different man every night. All the time there is the feeling that something momentous is going to happen, and when at long last it does, it is the murder of one of Julie's lovers. Here the film picks up a little speed and various twists and turns follow. You have to pay close attention to what is going on or you won't be able to make sense of it.The film is beautifully shot, much of it on location in France, and mostly in a rather muted colour palette of beige and greens, punctuated by the sparkling blue of the large swimming pool once the drab cover is taken off and it's cleaned up. This introduction of vibrant colour coincides with Julie's intrusion in Sarah's life of peaceful solitude. However, it is the performances of the two lead actresses that really make the film interesting. Charlotte Rampling is quite sensational throughout, as is Ludivine Sagnier who manages to give her initially rather unlikable character great warmth and humanity. Charles Dance is well cast in what is a rather small supporting role. There is quite a lot of nudity and several highly erotic scenes of a sexual nature. As well as being an integral part of the story, these are beautifully handled. However, viewers who are not comfortable with this kind of thing are probably well advised to give this film a miss.The DVD is good. English subtitles are available for those who need them. Any instances of French dialogue in the English version are subtitled in English. The following extra features are included: - Cast interviews (Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier) - Cannes 2003 - Red Carpet Footage - Stills Gallery - Promo Reel - Trailer

Swimming Pool (NB Spoilers)Every moment of Swimming Pool is compelling because of the character of Charlotte Rampling. Any film in which she plays becomes a film about the charismatic actress playing a role which is and isn’t herself. At one level, this is a moving and penetrating study of what happens when a stunning young actress becomes a middle aged woman: beautiful still but the Botox eyelids a record of poignant female grief. It is a story of revenge, the revenge of every woman rejected simply because she is no longer young.The film has something in common with Adaptation: it is a representation of a plausible version of its own creation. As with Adaptation, masterly psychological realism is gradually overtaken by commercial sensationalism as a moving study of the ageing process and the struggle to make fiction out of experience slips into something which will ensure the film sells to a undiscriminating audience. It is an Anglo-French production: the French ingredients are poised, exquisite and beautifully paced, the Anglo side of things rushed and rather clumsy tosh.But whereas Adaptation makes this artistic compromise between art film and crude commercial product a strength: it is written into the narrative that Hollywood audiences demand pulp, Swimming Pool loses its grip at the very end of the film. The concession to formulaic tosh is insufficiently elaborated to be either ridiculous enough or satisfyingly ambiguous and the director himself seems unsure what point he is making beyond the tautology that any work of art is a work of art. The closing moments, juxtaposing the “real” and fictional “daughters” of Sarah’s publisher feel redundant, unconvincing and limp after what had been finely wrought artistic tension.The acting throughout is superb.

I tried out this DVD because it stars Charlotte Rampling - with her reputation as a great actress, and her 'French' elegance, and good looks - I thought the film must be worth a look - and I wasn't disappointed. I don't want to spoil the story - but she's plays a writer in England who takes a break in a friend's house in France - where they have a nice outdoor swimming pool. There she meets the owner's daughter - a young woman who is attractive and hedonistic - and immediately there is tension between the two. The acting between these two main characters is great - there's a kind of emotional honesty, which I don't normally find in mainstream films.What I love about this film - it's like taking a holiday ! - it takes you to a warm and sunny place in the South of France - with lots of scenes of : blue water; blue skies; French countryside; and sunbathing by the pool. Those scenes (all beautifully shot) make for a really upbeat film. It's the perfect antidote for a grey, dull British Winter ! The film has romance and eroticism - it has rivalry and a crime - and it has elements of fantasy and mystery. At the end, I was left wondering : what did happen ? How much of it was real ?I like films that leave you with those questions. In case you're wondering - yes, there are one or two sex scenes, and there is some nudity - but the film is more than just titillation - it's a good film !

Don't be put off by the German Blu Ray not stating English language version on the cover as I nearly was. Just go to Sprachen/ton on settings and select 'Originalfassung stereo'. You will then get the original English stereo soundtrack. If German subs show, you can easily disable them. Then sit back and enjoy a fine little psychological thriller with Charlotte Rampling and cast on top form under the direction of the great Francois Ozon. Quality of the Blu Ray is fine, but I hope a new 4k scan is done and released soon for the UK/US market as this film deserves it.

Directed by François Ozon and featuring a fine cast, 'Swimming Pool' is an interesting and atmospheric film with a twist at the end.