Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Mood Piece
Review: "Swimming Pool" opens quite genteelly, as a successful English mystery writer (Sarah Morton, played by Charlotte Rampling) finds herself wanting to stretch literarily. When she approaches her publisher (Chalres Dance), with whom she may be having an affair, he suggests rather dismissively that she needs a vacation. He offers her the use of his country home in France. Despite her hesitation, she decides to go and surprisingly soon feels refreshed and ready to start a new novel. The next day, however, an unexpected complication arrives in the form of Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), Dance's sensuous French daughter. The two women clash initially, as Sarah is annoyed by the intrusion and then shocked by the stream of men that Julie parades home for casual sex. Gradually, the women form a wary bond, although Sarah may be more than a little jealous of the younger woman.
The two starring actresses are superlative and make this movie believable and captivating; accordingly they received Cesar nominations (the French equivalent of the Oscar) for Best Actress (Rampling) and Best Supporting Actress (Sagnier). French director François Ozon (Under the Sand, 8 Women) shows remarkable control of his material and sustains a steadily building sense of suspense and intrigue. As we learn more about the characters, the movie becomes more subtle and the tension increases. Unfortunately, the film takes a bit of a wrong-headed turn in the final third, as Sarah imagines that a murder may have occurred. Ultimately, "Swimming Pool" is a solid mood piece with a disappointing final act that diminishes its impact. Extras: The DVD features the original trailer and some deleted scenes, which mostly depict Rampling's arrival in France and her puttering around the village sight-seeing. These scenes are rather boring and add nothing to the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Offbeat erotic thriller with a surprising act of violence
Review: This 2003 offbeat psychological thriller is one of the most intriguing films I've seen this year. It's offbeat and erotic and there are some scenes that will echo in my mind for a long time. It stars Charlotte Rampling as a British mystery writer whose editor lends her his home in the south of France for a much needed vacation. The place is beautiful and she is soon writing away on her laptop computer and enjoying the beauty of the grounds as well as the local village. Suddenly, her peace is shattered by the appearance of the French born daughter of her editor, played by Ludivine Sagnier, who is young, beautiful and wild. Naturally it's impossible for the writer to continue her peaceful vacation, and there is immediate conflict, especially since the young woman swims nude, walks around topless and brings home different men every night for one-night stands. The two women are just beginning to resolve their differences however, when they suddenly have to deal with the consequences of an act of violence which turns the story into a totally different direction which made my heart beat with anxiety as I moved my chair closer to the screen in order not to miss one bit of the exciting developments. I can understand why the ending might be confusing to some. In my opinion though, it brought the whole film to a satisfactory conclusion. This is a really fine film. It's totally original and steeped in mystery. It's an excellent script without a wasted word and I loved the cinematography of the lovely French town. The roles for the two actresses were certainly challenging but they made their characters real and sympathetic and I could identify with both of them. And one of the film's strengths is that the viewer never quite knows what will happen next. I therefore give it one of my highest recommendations. Don't miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: Confusing Plot but Clear Photography of Nubile Woman
Review: An intelligent female friend and I were mystified and aggravated by this film. What was actualy going on after all? I like self-interpreation movies as much as the next smart viewer but I think the raves this movie received were based more on the raw sexuality of the young female French star.
Rating: 
Summary: Wake me when it's over...
Review: Swimming Pool is bloated self righteous tale of two underdeveloped characters poorly interacting with no story and some sex and murder thrown in to make men watch it. Incidentally, this movie bored me to tears. Wake me when it's over.
Rating: 
Summary: Could Have Been Better, Still Worthwhile
Review: This is definitely a hot movie. It has just enough twists and turns to keep the interest level above the T&A factor, which is considerable. However, I think Swimming Pool falls short. It could have been a great movie but it is only fairly good. Both the young girl and the old British woman are far too much stock characters (the impossibly carefree, living for the moment French girl and the incredulously curmudgeonly one from the other side of the channel). The ending seems flawed as well; rather than chosing a subtle climax the movie assaults the viewer with violence and insanity, which can normally be good, but in this film was more bewildering than effective.
Rating:
Summary: Overrated, Overblown
Review: Like a lot of French Films...pretty girls, ugly guys, and a loose plot. It really doesn't make much sense in the end. A weak attempt at becoming a dark film and in the end just airy fairy. But I'll give them props for beautiful scenery.
Rating:
Summary: Self-indulgent and offensively immature.
Review: This movie aspires to psychologically tense drama and falls well short of the mark in every way. The psychology never develops, and the "surprise ending" makes it clear that these characters (or their creator) are just as immature and shallow as they seem. As a result, there simply is no dramatic tension. I suppose that, in the right mood and context, on a big screen, this movie could cast a spell with its fairly good music and good production values. Still, one of the most disappointing movies I've seen in a long time--the only thing worse than the movie itself is watching the deleted scenes!
Rating:
Summary: Very boring movie with a swimming pool
Review: This movie was more boring than In the Bedroom. Don't rent it. Don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: THIS MOVIE WAS REALLY STUPID
Review: THIS MOVIE HAD ALMOST NO PLOT, AND IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE..IF YOUR LOOKING JUST TO WASTE SOME TIME BECAUSE YOUR BOARD, YOU MIGHT TAKE A LOOK.. BUT IF YOUR WANTING TO SEE A GOOD MOVIE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS.. VERY UNEVENTFUL, AND IT DRAGS ON .
Rating:
Summary: Very impressionistic
Review: Like "8 Women", this film shows Ozon's talent at portraying the layered, fragile emotional world of women, which is remarkable coming from a male. And like "8 Women" too, "Swimming Pool" is a film which is marvellous when considered in its entirety, but falls apart if you poke at it too much. It's best taken as an impressionistic, abstract painting - the picture becomes clearer at a distance but the details disintegrate the closer you get. I was initially very puzzled after watching the film. The acting was fantastic, the directing was fantastic, but I simply didn't understand the plot, especially the very puzzling ending which seemed somewhat remniscent of bad kiddie essays - "Suddenly I woke up and realised that it was just a dream after all." But the film holds better together if you disregard the bewildering plot and simply absorb the atmosphere without trying too hard to figure out the 'why's of it. The swimming pool worked perfectly as a motif symbolising the freedom of action/expression/thought, almost untamable wildness that Julie has too much of and Sarah is in dire need of. However, I do wonder if the overwhelming scenes of nudity actually contribute to the film. It's a fine line between not enough and too much: nudity of course would be essential, but there was so much blatant sexuality and nudity that it seemed more like hard-core porn at times. But perhaps Ozon wanted this effect.
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