In London, the successful and weird middle-aged writer of crime and mystery novels Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is passing through a phase of lack of inspiration. Her publisher John Bosload (Charles Dance) invites her to spend some summertime days in his house in a small town in France, where there is inclusive a swimming pool. He also suggests her to make the experience of writing about a different theme to break her block. Sarah accepts the invitation and travels to the wonderful and lonely place. A few days later, she starts writing again, but her quiet rest is shaken with the unexpected arrival of Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), the sexy daughter of John. From that moment on, reality and dream blend in Sarah's world.
"Swimming Pool" is a film with ambiguous conclusion by François Ozon. I did not dislike this movie, but I believe it is indeed an excellent idea, wasted in a very disappointing conclusion. There are many unexplained subplots and the story is completely open to the most different interpretations, and of course I have mine. But without reading any information or clue from the writer and director François Ozon about his real intention, it is impossible to give a precise clarification. Europeans usually like this type of open-ending to discuss about, but in this situation, the film does not give necessary hints about the real intention of the plot. The viewer can speculate only. Charlotte Rampling has a magnificent interpretation, Ludivine Sagnier has a very erotic performance, but to become an excellent film, many clarifications are missing. The Unrated DVD from Focus Features offers deleted scenes that may help the interpretation that Sarah was alone in the house. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Swimming Pool: À Beira da Piscina" ("Swimming Pool: On the Edge of the Swimming Pool")
Note: On 21 January 2025, I saw this film again.
