Swimming Pool Review
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, Rovi
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