Review of "Swimming Pool" DVD (2003)

Review by Staci Layne Wilson for Horror.com

There have been a some really chilling fright flicks to come out of France lately and make a splash Stateside (The Brotherhood of the Wolf, and The Crimson Rivers to name a couple). So, when I heard that the spooky indie Swimming Pool (starring Angel Heart's Charlotte Rampling) was coming out on DVD, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And -- yes! -- Lion's Gate even sent me the unrated version. I could practically taste the blood. Two hours later, I was left with a slowly shaking head and my blood-thirst definitely not slaked.

No, it's not the "horror" movie some of its theatrical reviews made it out to be and there is only one murder (as far as we know), but Swimming Pool is still a decent thriller with an ending that makes you go, "Huh?" (in a good way).

Swimming Pool starts with a slow wading-in as a Ruth Rendell-style mystery novelist, Sarah Morton (Rampling), seeks peace and quiet to write her next whodunnit. Her publisher (Charles Dance) offers her the use of his tranquil French villa, and Sarah, shortly after arriving find that her publisher's impetuous, carefree, and mostly nude wayward young daughter (Ludivine Sagnier as Julie) is also staying there. Although Julie shows a lot, it turns out that she hiding much, much more. Soon enough, deadly mischief spirals out of control as the uptight Englishwoman clashes with the selfish vixen -- and one becomes a muse, while the other becomes a pawn.

There are very few characters in Swimming Pool, leaving the burden of the film on Rampling's and Sagnier's shoulders. The women have a believable repulsing/compelling chemistry together, in keeping with the moody characters they play. The beautiful and seemingly idyllic villa sets the stage for the title character: while the swimming pool itself is nondescript, it's innocent plainness is, of course, all a facade.

Director François Ozon plays it slow and loose with Swimming Pool (and it could have been slower still, judging by the deleted scenes on the DVD which feature several long, languid, dialog-free moments with a wandering, thinking, and writing Rampling). But if you can keep it in mind that Swimming Pool is very much a French arty film -- sort of a cynical and spare film noir -- then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the insidious mystery as it unfolds, then slaps you in the face.