Swimming Pool (2003)

Gorgeously shot and exquisitely performed, François Ozon's beguiling Swimming Pool casts a lovely dark spell, but a predictable plot twist in the film's final third ensures that the film ends disappointingly. While more enjoyable than Ozon's previous entry, the misbegotten musical mystery 8 Women, Swimming Pool doesn't match the disturbing psychological intrigue of the director's best work, nor does it follow through on its initial promise. Charlotte Rampling plays Sarah Morton, the repressed British mystery writer with a subtlety and grace that lends humanity to an archetype; and Ludivine Sagnier matches Rampling as Julie, the French wild child who invades Sarah's tranquil writer's holiday. Julie is also a type, but Sagnier plays the part with such full-bodied vitality and underlying vulnerability that it transcends cliché. The plot eventually fails this pair. To the credit of Ozon and screenwriter Emmanuele Bernheim (who collaborated with Claire Denis on the wonderful Friday Night), they keep the characters' true motivations opaque until well into the film. Eventually, they begin telegraphing the inevitable plot twist in embarrassingly obvious fashion. Perhaps it's all meant to be a sly comment on the nature of Sarah's work as a mystery novelist. In any case, the silly dénouement of the film fails as drama. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide