Swimming Pool (2003)

REVIEW
The latest from François Ozon is another success for one of our favorite directors. In addition to being an engaging, sexy (very sexy) thriller, it is also a moving drama about a woman who rediscovers her passion and her voice, and features fantastic performances from the leads, Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier.
Rampling is perfect as Sarah Morton, the uptight, stereotypically English, mystery author who has lost all passion for her life and her work. She buttons her blouses up to the top and wears a permanent, thin-lipped grimace on her face. Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) is the French daughter of Morton’s agent—a free-spirited and sexually ravenous girl who beds almost every man she meets. Sagnier is spectacular as Julie, the polar opposite to Sarah, who also becomes Morton’s muse as the staid English author slowly loosens the buttons on her life with each exposure to Julie’s world.
Ozon’s direction is nothing short of brilliant. His storytelling is in top form and he remains true to his French roots by steering clear of the unpalatable Hollywood formula for a strong woman (woman meets man, man makes woman strong). Of course, Rampling is central to the character’s strength, but also watch the choices Ozon makes for the wardrobe as they reveal the changes in Morton as the author uncovers her Self.
An entertaining thriller and intelligent film about self-discovery, Swimming Pool will keep you watching to the very end, and leave you thinking about it long after the credits have ended.