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Features: DVD, Unrated Version, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), Dolby Digital Surround, Deleted Scenes, French, Spanish Subtitled
Dive into a mind-bending thriller that's soaked with raw sensuality! A murder-mystery author's search for inspiration takes a wicked turn when she meets a sexy and provocative young woman with an explosive past, in the movie Interview calls 'A thrilling film! Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier sizzle!'
"Still waters run deep in this compelling psychological melodrama..." Neil Smith, BBCi Films
"You'll have to take your eyes off teen temptress Ludivine Sagnier to navigate the psychological twists..." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...sensuous and deceptive..." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Editor's Note
In Francois Ozon's SWIMMING POOL, Charlotte Rampling plays Sarah Morton, a prim and proper British author who has written a successful series of mystery-crime novels. However, when she visits her London publisher (Charles Dance) in a dour mood, wearing a depressive pout, and complains that she's no longer his favorite, he invites her to use his vacation home in the south of France as a tranquil escape to try her hand at writing something different. Once there, Sarah receives an unexpected and highly unwelcome visit from his bold, sexy, confrontational teenage daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier). The two are instantly at odds with each other, as Julie drinks, smokes, and slinks around the pool topless. Her loose sexual mores and mysterious late nights infuriate Sarah, whose puritanical unease is only exacerbated in Julie's presence. Wonderful scenes of Sarah writing at her computer, her lips twitching wickedly with twisted inspiration, indicate that the story is about to take a turn for the weird. And that it does, quickly, as booze-clouded activities by the swimming pool become dark and seedy.In this immaculate thriller, Rampling and Sagnier ignite the screen with static tension. Stunted conversations, resentful glances, and strange insights about the personality of each character give the story a tangible electricity. The idyllic vacation home and sun-drenched swimming pool put an ironic spin on the haunting story. And as Ozon works his magic with pensive camerawork, providing moments of true visual comedy that only enhance the plot's intrigue, viewers will delight in what is at once an understated yet powerful narrative feat.
| Features | Widescreen Presentation | | Interactive Menus | | Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround; French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround; English DTS 5.1 Surround | | Theatrical Trailer | | Deleted Scenes | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 2/3/2009 |
| Running Time: 103 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 23828 | | UPC: 00025192382826 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: French | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Cannes Film Festival (2003) | | | Francois Ozon, Nominee, Golden Palm |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...It's worth seeing twice just for the privilege of watching Rampling and Sagnier match each other stroke for stroke..." 07/01/2003 p.26Entertainment Weekly
"...The narrative logic of SWIMMING POOL slips through our hands like cool water, shimmery and light-dappled, leaving behind the pleasures of summer heat and goose bumps..." 07/11/2003 p.62 Rolling Stone
"...It's Sagnier, a young Bardot, who lifts the movie, and Rampling, 58, who gives it nuance..." 07/24/2003 p.95 New York Times
"...As the story takes shape, Mr. Ozon, Ms. Rampling and Ms. Sagnier complicate it in subtle and fascinating ways....Simultaneously a thoroughly mannered, mischievously artificial confection and an acute piece of psychological realism..." 07/02/2003 p.E5 USA Today
"With a little sex, some mystery, an appealing lead and a little sex, France's SWIMMING POOL has what it takes to become an art house audience magnet..." 07/03/2003 p.4D Los Angeles Times
"...Rampling doesn't skip a beat. Freed from the burden of likability, the actress pushes the character from near-farce to near-tragedy without once appealing to sentimentalism..." 07/02/2003 p.C14 Chicago Sun-Times
"...A sensuous and deceptive new thriller..." 07/02/2003 p.51 Box Office
"...An entertaining drama, showcasing strong performances from both actresses..." 09/01/2003 p.124 Sight and Sound
"...The film is ripe with allusions....The ambiguities intensify the picture's hothouse atmosphere, making it all the more impressive that Ozon maintains such a consistently cool touch..." 10/01/2003 p.65-6 San Francisco Chronicle 7 of 10
Ozon throws in a red herring here and there to remind us that this isn't just a character study. The - Carla Meyer
James Berardinelli's ReelViews 6 of 10
The concept of involving a female mystery writer in a crime is not a new plot device. In fact, from - James Berardinelli
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