Swimming Pool (2003)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Dan S

  
  A stylish but ultimately somewhat disappointing exercise in writing, insanity, and the strain two very different people encounter living in the same vacation home. Think "The Odd Couple", only darker, nuder, and much more slower-paced, the film's overall style and… More
  A stylish but ultimately somewhat disappointing exercise in writing, insanity, and the strain two very different people encounter living in the same vacation home. Think "The Odd Couple", only darker, nuder, and much more slower-paced, the film's overall style and masterful performances really help make somewhat mundane material watchable. Rampling is especially impressive as a writer trying to find inspiration for a new story, and maybe finding that in the town whore (Ludivine Sagnier), who just happens to be her publisher's daughter living with her for the time being. The ending does have a twist to it, although it is not as creative and mind-boggling as it thinks it is (I had two theories as to how it was end, one of them was right). Still, director Francois Ozon's feel for the camera and space is irrefutably remarkable, and the only thing that keeps this thing from being watchable is a near third-act collapse and a finale that is predictable. Still, not a bad film at all, probably worth watching if you are a French-art film fan.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"On the surface, all is calm."</i> A British mystery author visits her publisher's home in the South of France, where her interaction with his unusual daughter sets off some touchy dynamics. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"On the surface, all is calm."</i> A British mystery author visits her publisher's home in the South of France, where her interaction with his unusual daughter sets off some touchy dynamics. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Intriguing character study with Rampling as a successful mystery writer who tries to come up with a new storyline is invited by her well-meaning editor Dance to visit his home in France where she gets more than she bargained for in the supine form of his Lolita-esque daughter (Sagnier). Surprisingly funny and plot enveloping as the film progresses into a nice little twist by the end yet could have used more juice to the proceedings at hand although Rampling again proves to be a wonderfully cunning actress that has more talent in her dead-pan eyes than most starlets do in their pinkies and Sagnier provides some naughty fun along the way.

• Julie B

  
  I couldn't remember if I'd seen this, so I started watching it and then I remembered that I had seen it, but I couldn't remember how it ended, so I watched it again. It's a good little thriller with a twist.

• moon r

  
  a bored and self-disgruntled writer of formulaic mystery thrillers takes a vacation in the sultry French countryside to recharge and, quite literally, finds her Muse again. It's the budding relationship between the staid cool and controlled outer shell of the writer (Rampling… More
  a bored and self-disgruntled writer of formulaic mystery thrillers takes a vacation in the sultry French countryside to recharge and, quite literally, finds her Muse again. It's the budding relationship between the staid cool and controlled outer shell of the writer (Rampling wonderfully cast and playing against type...except for her eyes and lips!) and her steamy simmering - and much younger - interior self (Sagnier) that make this sexy female "Fight Club" take curiously fascinating.

• Red L

  
  A strange movie. I still don't get the last scene - Julie is not Julia??? But the relationship between Julie and Sarah is interesting to say the least.

• Alexander W

  
  Gets a bunch of stars for storyline but doesn't really fit in to any mode of the scene which is all the rave in any person fucking mouth. Right? Fuck off

• David L

  
  English writer Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) needs a break from London and wants to write her new novel in seclusion. Her publisher sends her to his Italian house--miles away from anyone. She loves it but then the publisher's daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) shows up. Things… More
  English writer Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) needs a break from London and wants to write her new novel in seclusion. Her publisher sends her to his Italian house--miles away from anyone. She loves it but then the publisher's daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) shows up. Things get tense...and REALLY strange. To say anymore would be unthinkable. You'll have to see the movie to find out. I don't want to give to much away here This is the kind of movie that switches gears halfway through--but pulls it off. It starts as a character study of Morton but when Julie shows up things take a decidedly unexpected twist. This does fall into " its not a film for everyone" category, for one reason you have to pay strict attention to catch all the twists and turns and alot of people are not up for that, In fact it doesn't totally make sense till the very end. Beautifully directed (and cowritten) by Francois Ozon--a real director to look out for. Just a terrific film but like I said not for everyone. In the end it may be too quiet and require to much attention for some and there is a lot of nudity in this (mostly female) and if your of the prudish type then you might want to stay away but if your looking for a great story with alot of twists and turns you can't go wrong here.

• Dean L

  
  thought I was going to see a semi-traditional or foreign Mystery/Thriller. While this film held some attributes of both genres this was certainly not the crux. There is the beginning of some great character development and some wonderfully tranquil scenes and while I enjoyed the film… More
  thought I was going to see a semi-traditional or foreign Mystery/Thriller. While this film held some attributes of both genres this was certainly not the crux. There is the beginning of some great character development and some wonderfully tranquil scenes and while I enjoyed the film it never quite got there (I would really give it more of 3.5 stars). I feel that the film decided to take an American turn as it twisted towards the end. This kind of twist is usually less transparent for foreign directors and left me somewhat unsatisfied. I will say that some of the subtle ambiguities were nice. One of the biggest problems I have is that every time the movie tries to be suspenseful you will know exactly what is about to happen next. Note the word "decides" and translate to be contrived. This detracted little from my enjoyment of the film though since the suspense was more of a construct and less of an integral part of the movie, but it became a little tedious in places. All in all this is a good film. It strives towards bringing you good characters, it has some wonderful scenery, it has some delicious erotic moments, and you will find yourself involved with the characters. All this having been said...it tries too hard and in trying it immediately fails. This movie should have let itself get where it wanted to go rather than forced to go where it ended up. I know this sounds confusing, but I do recommend the film and if you watch it you may agree with me. For those looking for a traditional thriller or car chase or need to perpetual over-stim of the Americanized thriller...look elsewhere. For those of you who took the time to read this whole review...this film is probably for you.

• Jens S

  
  Erotic thriller that's starting out somewhat slow and suffers from a rather dislikable female main character. The movie gets semi-entertaining once the nymphomaniac blonde enters the scene. After an hour, however, the characters start acting rather implausible and there is no… More
  Erotic thriller that's starting out somewhat slow and suffers from a rather dislikable female main character. The movie gets semi-entertaining once the nymphomaniac blonde enters the scene. After an hour, however, the characters start acting rather implausible and there is no real sign of excitement at any point, despite of the gorgeous blonde not wearing a whole lot. The final twist simply does not make sense at all. Once again, it's a case of the French trying to be deep but forgetting to entertain on the way.

• jay n

  
  wonderful charlotte rampling performance in this interesting fim

• Drew S

  
  What I find most fascinating about Swimming Pool is its style. The film is a jarring combination of both the hard-lined, dry, rainy atmosphere of British films and the lurid psychosexuality of French ones. It certainly makes for a very interesting combination. That's not to say… More
  What I find most fascinating about Swimming Pool is its style. The film is a jarring combination of both the hard-lined, dry, rainy atmosphere of British films and the lurid psychosexuality of French ones. It certainly makes for a very interesting combination. That's not to say that the rest of the movie doesn't hold up. Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier both give superb performances, which is especially surprising given the latter's age and overall appearance. It almost parallels the film itself: there is far more depth to her than meets the eye. Past these two strong points, the film is a pretty solid, unexceptional mystery with a few psychological twists and a weird ending. The last 15 minutes are kind of ridiculous.

• Megan S

  
  so as i was watching this movie and i was thinking that it was really weird and i wasn't quite sure what was going on until the end which was awesome and then i loved it. hehe.

• Leigh R

  
  Odd.

• Lanning :

  
  . . . until a twist ending that forces you to reevaluate everything you've seen. Only then will the mysteries of <i>Swimming Pool</i> be fully and tantalizingly revealed. <p> Yeah right, Jeff Shannon. <p> Yeeeeeowzah. Man, have I hit one streak of total… More
  . . . until a twist ending that forces you to reevaluate everything you've seen. Only then will the mysteries of <i>Swimming Pool</i> be fully and tantalizingly revealed. <p> Yeah right, Jeff Shannon. <p> Yeeeeeowzah. Man, have I hit one streak of total losahs o'wot? <p> Boy do we need Gene Siskel now more than ever.

• Mike N

  
  ...just as soon as I don't feel so swamped with transparent deadlines I set for myself. Ack! Caption Olympics begin today! [url="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=311721"]CAPTION GAME HQ & PIZZERIA! COME ON IN, FOLKS!!![/url] Everybody… More
  ...just as soon as I don't feel so swamped with transparent deadlines I set for myself. Ack! Caption Olympics begin today! [url="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=311721"]CAPTION GAME HQ & PIZZERIA! COME ON IN, FOLKS!!![/url] Everybody should come and vote! If you do...um...I'll give you...er...uhh...(light bulb) FREE BEER! So I'm lookin' over the whole year, and I think I might be making close to 10 different roundtrip flights this year. 10. Not all are booked, but that's what I have tentatively planned. 10. Mother of Bob, that's a lotta flyin'. This is not including my road trips either. (bites knuckles) How 'bout you guys? Big trips comin' up? Road trips, flying, anything? Spill your guts on your forthcoming adventures!! Young Indy wants to know! [img]http://www.river-phoenix.org/phraseology/chapter15/indiana-jones.jpg[/img]

• Yinalí R

  
  very strange...akward movie.

• Quinto W

  
  Carlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier both give very strong performances, and François Ozon's screenplay keeps toying with your expectations of how and what is going to happen (or if something is even happening at all). A very quiet, even sometimes slow drama/thriller, that… More
  Carlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier both give very strong performances, and François Ozon's screenplay keeps toying with your expectations of how and what is going to happen (or if something is even happening at all). A very quiet, even sometimes slow drama/thriller, that nevertheless keeps you guessing all the way through.

• Daisy M

  
  Swimming Pool presented a fantastic style of thriller drama. Though the plot started not so difficult as it might overcome, but it had a mysterious touch. Even the movie took its time to create this impression, with at times it was funny and sometimes sharp. But it demanded some brain… More
  Swimming Pool presented a fantastic style of thriller drama. Though the plot started not so difficult as it might overcome, but it had a mysterious touch. Even the movie took its time to create this impression, with at times it was funny and sometimes sharp. But it demanded some brain to think whether this was real happening or just a fantasy tale of the writers mind.The sexuality and nudity in this movie was very obvious which is common in European movies, but in this movie it was necessary because they were crucial factors of the writer Sarah Morton's imaginations.The ending caused you to examine the movie and then some scenes made more sense.

• Doctor S

  
  Never has the final shot, literally the last 20 seconds, of a film changed my perception of what came before as dramatically as Swimming Pool. Quite audacious, and successful I should add! Mysterious and provocative.

• Sunil J

  
  One of the sexiest French thrillers I've ever seen.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings